Broken
by Silvermissstt
Summary: At first glance, it doesn't seem obvious, but Miss Hannigan, Pepper, Annie, and Molly all have one thing in common that can change their lives and the way they treat others forever: they're all broken in someway or another. Set two years prior to the beginning of Annie. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I am so sorry that this isn't the next installment of Something Was Missing, but I have put that story on the backburner until May (I just need a break from it). In the meantime, I have written a new story for you all to enjoy! I didn't intend to start writing this, believe me, but one night I just began to write and this was born. I hope you guys like it and thank you for being so patient with me!

* * *

It was late at night in the Hudson Street Home for Girls and rain was pelting heavily against the windows of the dormitory on the left side of the second floor. Six of the seven little girls inhabiting the room were fast asleep on their cots, occasionally crying out softly when scary and dark figures invaded their dreams.

One little girl though, as always, wasn't able to sleep and she was currently sitting on the window sill, silently watching the water droplets as they raced their way down the glass. It had to be nearing three am and Annie still couldn't fall asleep. Her insomnia had been far worse than usual lately, her thoughts at night now jumping between the parents who still hadn't yet come for her and the newest addition to their dormitory, four year old Molly.

It had been only a month since Molly came to the orphanage, after her parents had passed away in a horrific car accident. Even though Molly had been involved in the crash, she was luckily able to escape from it with only a few scrapes and bruises. Either way, Annie felt horrible for the poor little thing. The first week she lived at the orphanage, Molly had isolated herself, too afraid to talk to anyone unless it was a necessity. She went through the motions, cleaning the orphanage with the same deadpan expression as everyone else. Annie tried multiple times to reassure the girl that it was okay to be sad about her parents' death and that she could always come to her if need be.

Molly always refused (with a silent head shake), until her nightmares began exactly a week after coming to the orphanage.

Nightmares in which visions of her parents corpses, mutilated way worse than they actually had been, invaded poor little Molly's subconscious, causing her to wake up shaking and in tears. The first time such an event had occurred, Annie was the first one by Molly's side and she pulled the younger girl into her arms, whispering soothing words until her sobs had turned into whimpers. Then, when Molly wearily begged her not to leave, Annie began to sang a lullaby she'd learned from one of the older girls until the younger girl finally fell asleep again, wrapped safely in Annie's embrace. From that point forward, the two little girls were nearly inseparable and each night would follow the same sort of routine.

Annie would tuck Molly in around seven or eight, depending on their workload for the day, and then the redhead and the other girls would finish what was left of their work before lights out at eleven. The other girls would always be asleep by eleven thirty, but Annie sat up, waiting for the inevitable moment when the youngest out of all of them would call out from a bad dream. Then she would be by Molly's side within moments, always offering words of comfort until the girl was calm again.

Tonight was no different. Just as Annie's eyelids were beginning to get heavy as she leaned against the windowsill, a shriek of absolute terror enveloped the previously silent dormitory and at once, Annie knew it was Molly. Slowly, she climbed down the water pipe and stepped into the dormitory, where little Molly was thrashing around on her cot, tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried out weakly.

"Molly...Molly, it's alright." Annie said soothingly as she sat down on the bed and pulled the little girl into her arms. "It was just a bad dream, baby. There's nothing to be afraid of. It was just a bad dream."

Molly clung on tight to Annie, instantly feeling a million times safer when the older girl had come to comfort her. "Annie, it was my mama and my daddy. They were dead, Annie, and I couldn't stop seeing 'em. They were all hurt. It was scary." The four year old replied, through a curtain of sobs and hiccups.

"Shh," Annie soothed as she kissed the brunette's cheek. "I know, baby. I know it was scary, but I promise you that it was only a dream. It wasn't real and it can't hurt you, alright? I know you miss your mommy and daddy and I'm sure they miss you, too, but I'm here for you. Annie's here."

Molly smiled slightly as she looked up towards her friend, trying her best to calm down. "I miss them, Annie. I don't wanna be here. I want my mommy and I want my home and my toys. I miss it."

Annie wrapped Molly in an even tighter embrace, knowing that the transition from having parents to being an orphan was taking its toll on the little girl. "I know, Molly," she sympathized. "But you know what? Soon someone is gonna adopt you and you're gonna have new parents to love you and cuddle you and give you a home. You just have to wait a little bit." She looked down at the girl, smiling widely.

Molly curled up against Annie's side. "You really think I'm gonna find another mama and daddy?" She sleepily asked.

Noticing that her little friend was beginning to drift off again, Annie smiled even wider and tucked her back underneath her covers, still keeping a tight grasp on Molly's hand. "I really think you're gonna find another mama and daddy." She confirmed. "It's getting late now; you should try and get back to sleep."

Panic instantly crossed Molly's tiny face and Annie gave her hand a tight squeeze to remind her that she was there.

"You'll stay with me?" Molly asked and Annie nodded.

"Of course I will," she whispered. "Go back to sleep, Molly. I'm gonna be right here if you need me."

At these words, the littler girl finally closed her eyes, fully trusting what Annie had promised. Once it seemed like she was asleep again, the redhead let out a sigh of relief at the fact that none of the other girls had been disturbed during Molly's breakdown. Most of them had been very patient with the little one, knowing all too well how hard orphaned life was, but the two oldest girls, Pepper and Kate, seemed to have made it their goal to taunt Molly mercilessly. Annie, of course, would protect the four year old at all costs, but it was nice when Molly fell asleep without anyone awaking.

Silence once more fell over the dormitory and Annie leaned up against the wall, softly stroking Molly's hand and letting sleep finally overcome her.

...

"Mommy! _Mommy_!"

No more than a half hour had passed since Annie fell asleep when another nightmare invaded poor little Molly's subconscious. The redhead was immediately shaken out of her rest when the younger girl cried out and within seconds, Molly was back in her embrace, sobbing quietly. Annie whispered soothing words into her ears, hoping beyond hope she'd calm down just as quickly as before.

No such luck, though, for Molly's sobs turned into wails when she recounted what the dream had been about, effectively waking the other five girls in the room.

"Are. You. Kidding. Me?" Ten year old Pepper muttered from her cot as she lifted her head slightly from her pillow. "Does she ever _shut_ _up_?"

Annie ignored this complaint as she rubbed Molly's back, knowing that Pepper had a temper and arguing with her would only get the two of them in trouble.

For a few minutes, the only noises in the dormitory were Molly's wails and Annie whispering words of reassurance. This was until Pepper finally got fed up with the lack of sleep she'd been getting and came towards Annie and Molly.

"Listen, kid, we're _all_ orphans here. You're not the only one whose life is horrible, but do you see _us_ crying about it every single night? Grow up." The girl sneered, towering over Annie and Molly as Molly looked up, an expression of fright on her face.

"Pick on someone your own size, Pepper." Annie replied defiantly. "Molly's parents _just_ died. Let her be upset about it. Be nice."

Pepper snorted. "Who was nice to me when my parents died? The kid needs to learn how the real world works. I'm only helping her."

"Give the poor little thing a break." Duffy piped up now. "She has enough to deal with without you picking on her. So what if she has a bad dream? We all do. And we all need comfort."

Molly simply rubbed her eyes tiredly as she watched the squabble between her friends play out.

"I see nobody else waking up in the middle of the night crying out for their mommy. Those days are long gone, kid. Get used to being an orphan. Almost nobody leaves this dump."

Annie opened her mouth to retort, but the room fell dead silent (even Molly seemed to know to keep quiet) when they heard footsteps approaching from down the hallway. At once, all seven girls seemed to hold in a breath, each hoping that they were imagining what they were hearing.

"What the _hell_ is going on in here?" A shrill voice demanded as the light in the bedroom switched on to reveal a clearly drunk (as she always was) Miss Hannigan, annoyed glare on her face as she stepped into the room.

At this, the girls all let out a groan. Once Miss Hannigan entered their room, there was almost certainly no chance of getting anymore sleep for the night. It looked as if their dormitory would get a head start on cleaning. Again.

"Well?" Miss Hannigan asked after a few moments of silence had passed. "I know you guys aren't deaf. What the hell is going on in here?"

Annie, Duffy, and July each exchanged glances, not sure how to respond. Poor Molly had already been sent to the paddle closet three times for her nightmares. They didn't want to risk it happening again. She didn't deserve it.

"I'll tell you what's going on," Pepper said after a few moments of silence had passed. "The _baby_ had another nightmare and woke us all up. Can't you send her to another room, one with the little kids? I'm sick of not being able to sleep through the night just because _someone_ can't keep quiet."

"No! Oh, Miss Hannigan, please don't send me to another room!" Molly said now, her tears starting up again at the thought of being separated from Annie.

The redhead wrapped a protective arm around the little girl as Miss Hannigan glared between Molly and Pepper, taking a swig from the flask that always seemed to be with her.

"Does it look like I care whether or not you get sleep? I'm not going to move the brat to another room." She finally replied, sneering. "It's because of you girls that I'm awake right now and not getting my beauty sleep. Get up. This place is filthy."

Another groan fell upon the room at this declaration and Miss Hannigan shot the girls a nasty glare. "What?" She demanded.

"We love you, Miss Hannigan." They replied sadly as they rose from their cots and began to get dressed for the day. Satisfied, Miss Hannigan turned and left the room, no doubt to go to another bottle of gin.

"See what you did." Pepper snapped at Molly as she pulled on her sweater. "It's all your fault that none of us are getting any sleep."

"Lay off." Annie said defensively. "It's not her fault. Do you think she _likes_ to have nightmares like this every single night?"

"Beats me." Pepper replied, anger in her eyes as she stared down the four year old. "Maybe she does. Maybe she likes to annoy us."

"Annie..." Molly whimpered softly, intimidated by the older girl. Annie wrapped her arm around her friend in a comforting manner.

"It's alright, Molly. Don't pay any attention to her. She's just rude. Come on, why don't we get started on cleaning? The sooner we get started, the sooner we'll finish." At this, Annie began leading the little girl away and Pepper simply snorted.

"I'm rude for not enjoying the fact that nobody will let me sleep. Because that makes sense," she muttered, more to herself more than those around her.

Sure, Miss Hannigan may have been against the thought of moving Molly into another room that morning, but when Pepper set her mind to something, she wouldn't rest until she succeeded. She would make sure Molly got moved.

...

The day passed by slowly, but of course, this didn't come as a surprise to any of the girls at the orphanage. It was a rare occurrence that anything particularly fun happened where they lived. Each day, the routine was the same, no matter what day of the week it was or whether or not it was a holiday.

The girls tried their best to make the work they had to do as fun as possible, but there wasn't much one could do to add variety to sewing dresses, scrubbing floors, and washing toilets. Especially since the age group was so varied. There was a good deal of little kids (3-7 year olds), but there had never been very many older ones at the Hudson Street Home for Girls. The oldest girl was Kate, at 11 years old. Molly was among the youngest, with only two girls that were younger than her.

The fact that they were all orphans and therefore, the only semblance of family the had left made them more inclined to be civil towards one another, but even the closest of friends got into arguments at times. Fighting wasn't uncommon in the orphanage, especially when you put two girls like Annie and Pepper (strong willed and opinionated) in the same room, but they all seemed to know when to stop.

Today, though, Annie was noticing that Pepper was being much more vicious towards Molly than usual. Pepper was a grump by nature, but rarely did she go out of her way to be mean to someone, especially to someone as little as Molly.

Today, she was doing exactly that. For example, after lunch when they went back to their sewing machines, Molly accidentally put a tear in her dress and burst into tears at her mistake. Annie immediately began trying to help her fix it and Pepper simply criticised her for being so careless. This comment received a lot of flack for the ten year old, but she didn't care. Soon, Miss Hannigan would see how useless Molly was and she'd be out of their hair. She couldn't wait.

Annie tucked Molly into bed around seven thirty since their workload hadn't been too heavy that day (Sunday's were usually fairly leisurely in the orphanage, anyways) and then, feeling protective of the little girl, Annie decided to confront Pepper about why she had been so rude. The only response the older girl gave was a snort as she walked away, confusing Annie even more. Lights out was at only ten and even though it had been Annie's intention to stay up until Molly inevitably woke up from a nightmare, her fatigue seemed to have a mind of its own and she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow.

...

The next morning, Annie woke up to blinding sunlight streaming in through the window of the dormitory. Two things surprised her about this; the first being that Miss Hannigan hadn't already decided they needed to get up and the second being that Molly hadn't woken her up at all the night before. She hoped that meant that the little girl had finally caught a break and was able to sleep through the night for once. She needed it.

When Annie rolled over to face Molly's cot, the one directly next to hers, though, she suddenly realised that there was something very wrong. Even though her covers were messed and her stuffed pony was lain on the bed, Molly was nowhere to be found. Confused and a little bit panicked at this, Annie got out of bed and began to search for her friend, assuming that she had just gone to the bathroom or something. After searching both the bathrooms and finding no trace of Molly anywhere, Annie truly began to panic. There was no sign of Molly anywhere in the orphanage this morning, which led Annie to believe that the little girl had run away. This was a thought that terrified the redhead to her core.

Molly was so little, so naïve, so trusting. There were awful people in the world and Annie knew this at only eight years old. There were people who wouldn't bat an eye at the thought of kidnapping a little girl. There were people who wouldn't think twice of damaging a little kid like Molly beyond repair and that was what scared Annie most. She knew that she wasn't exactly the best influence on the girl, especially since she herself ran away so often, but she had good reason to do so. She was looking for the parents who still hadn't come for her. She was searching for her happily ever after. Molly had no end goal for running away, no end goal other than to get away from Miss Hannigan and the tedious life they lived.

Annie also knew how to care for herself when she ran away. She knew how to convince people into giving her food (no matter how tiny the morsel was) and she knew how to find shelter if the weather called for it. If she really wanted to, she could also probably convince someone into giving her a job. She was street smart and though she was beginning to teach Molly some of these skills, the girl was still far too little and naïve to fend for herself. Annie would feel immense guilt with the knowledge that a four year old girl was out on the streets all alone, especially now that she and Molly had formed such a tight bond. She felt the need to be Molly's protector. She felt the need to make sure she was safe.

"Annie? Annie, what's wrong?"

A voice suddenly spoke out into the room and, being caught up in her own thoughts, the redhead looked up, startled. Duffy was heading towards her now, concern furrowed on her face.

"Duffy..." Annie said softly, her voice cracking slightly. "I dunno where Molly is. I can't find her anywhere."

Duffy's eyes widened at this. "What do you mean? Molly's gotta be here somewhere. Where would she have gone?"

All Annie did in response was bite her lip and Duffy simply stared at her for a few moments, confused before she realised what thought process the redhead was going through. "You don't think she...ran away, do you?"

Annie sighed. "I really hope not, Duffy, but I can't think of anywhere else she could be. I mean, she's seen me run away at least three times since she came here. It'd make sense."

The older girl sighed now as she sat up on her heels. "You're right. But..how? How would she manage to run away?"

Concern flashed across Annie's face now. "I have no idea." She replied, a hint of defeat in her voice before she suddenly got up from the bed. "But we have to find her. Are you coming?"

Duffy stayed frozen on the bed, watching as Annie pulled on her sweater with a look of absolute bewilderment. "How are you going to find her, Annie? We don't know how long she's been gone or which way she went. It's gonna be hard."

Annie shook her head. "Who cares? Everything we do is hard. I'm not going to give up on Molly. I have to find her. I can't let her get hurt. She's too young."

Now, Duffy clearly saw the pain in Annie's eyes at the fact that their youngest member was missing and knew that she had to help. "Let's wake the others and then we all go look for Molly, alright? We'll find her."

Annie smiled slightly. "Thanks, Duffy." She said, hugging her friend before going to wake the others up.

It was going to be a _long_ morning.

...

Nearly an hour later, the remaining six girls were on the streets of New York, looking for Molly. Duffy, Kate, and Pepper split up to the right and Annie, July, and Tessie split up to the left, so that they would have a greater likelihood of finding Molly sooner.

Annie was trying her best not to let her emotions get the best of her as she, Tessie, and July searched for Molly, but she couldn't help but feel so helpless and even worse than that, guilty. She knew that Molly looked up to her, more than she did to any of the other girls and she knew that she'd given the little girl the impression that running away was alright. She was the reason that Molly was now possibly in life threatening danger. If, God forbid, anything happened to her little friend, Annie didn't think she'd ever be able to forgive herself. She was supposed to be Molly's protector from the crude outside world. She was supposed to keep Molly innocent for as long as possible.

Luckily, Annie didn't have much time to worry about her friend, since perhaps a half hour or so after beginning their search, they found her in the alleyway between a laundromat and a bagel shop. Annie's heart nearly dropped out of her stomach when she caught sight of Molly, huddled in the corner of the alley, very obviously trying not to let her lingering tears fall onto her cheeks.

"Molly?" Annie asked gently as she came towards the little girl, crouching down beside her. Molly's head snapped up, surprised when she heard the redhead's voiced. She thought she was alone.

"A-Annie?" She asked weakly, the first of her tears beginning to fall down her cheeks now. Annie let out a sigh of relief as she came towards her friend, wrapping her in a tight hug, but quickly pulling away when Molly winced at the contact.

"What's wrong?" Annie asked, surveying the little girl for any sign of injury. To her surprise and concern, Molly's arms were bruised fairly bad and there was a little cut underneath her left eye. "Molly, what happened?"

The little girl took a deep breath and looked Annie in the eye, trembling a little bit, but giving no response.

"Molly, what happened? How'd you get hurt?" Annie prodded gently.

Molly simply shook with tears as she tried to calm down enough to the point where she could explain what happened. "I-I know that everyone hates me at the orphanage, Annie, except you and I thought it would be best to run away...so I did. But then, I didn't really know where to go so I just sorta walked around and I found a park. And then some mean boys walked by and they started to make fun of me and they throwed rocks at me and it hurt."

Once finished with her account of all that had happened, Molly burst into tears once more, this time more forcefully than they had been earlier. Annie's chest constricted when she saw just how much pain her little friend was and, trying her best to keep her own tears from falling, she wrapped Molly in an embrace, being mindful of her achy body.

"Shh, Molly," the older girl soothed, "It's over now, alright? Those boys are far, far away, baby. Don't worry."

"They...they hurt me, Annie. I hurt. All over." Molly replied, whimpering. Annie smoothed her hair back from her forehead and kissed it.

"I know, Molly, and that wasn't nice at all. I'm sorry that they hurt you, baby, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you, but Annie's here now, okay? C'mon, why don't we get you home and I'll make you feel better?" Annie pulled away from her young friend, standing up and extending her hand. At this gesture, Molly shook her head as a look of sadness and guilt spread across her tiny features.

"What's the matter, Molly?" Annie asked quietly.

Molly hiccuped. "N-nobody likes me, Annie...nobody. They're all mean to me back at the orphanage and I don't like it. I don't want to go back, Annie. They hate me." She said sadly, looking down as more tears began to drip down her cheeks.

"Oh, Molly," Annie replied softly, shaking her head as her heart crumbled even more. "Nobody hates you, baby. I know that it seems like they do when they're mean to you, but I don't think anyone, not even Miss Hannigan, could truly hate you."

Molly looked up towards Annie, her eyes wide as she sniffled and tried to calm down. "Really?"

Annie smiled as she stroked Molly's hair. "Really. You're such a special little girl, Molly. So sweet and kind, the kind of friend that everyone wants. I don't know how anyone could hate you."

"Even Pepper?"

"Even Pepper. I know that she seems really mean, and sometimes she can be, but underneath all that, she really is nice. It just takes some time to see that side of her."

Molly shook her head. "Then why is she so mean to me, Annie?" She replied, confusion on her face. "If she's really that nice, then why won't stop making fun of me? What did I do to her?"

Annie smiled sadly at Molly when she asked this, ruffling her hair a bit. The little girl was too young to know or to understand the hardships Pepper had gone through in her ten years (even Annie herself didn't understand fully) and she wasn't about to burden a four year old with that information.

"You didn't do anything, baby. I promise." Annie softly replied instead, "Whenever Pepper gets mad, you just have to keep in mind it has nothing to do with us. I think she's just had an incredibly hard life, even harder than living with Miss Hannigan is. It's not your fault."

Molly looked down a bit at this. "It sure seems like it is..." She said sad tone to her voice, "She always gets so mad at me when I have a bad dream. I don't mean to have bad dreams, Annie. I really don't."

Annie pulled Molly in a little closer. "I know you don't, baby. Pepper just isn't good at being patient with people. Do you understand what I'm saying about her life being rough, though?"

Molly quickly nodded as she looked back up towards Annie. "I still don't wanna go back, Annie. Miss Hannigan will still be mean and make us get up early and the other girls don't really like me."

Annie couldn't help but let a hint of a smile creep into her face when Molly said this. "The other girls don't like you huh? Then, is that why they all came to look for you when they heard you were missing? And that includes Pepper."

Molly's eyes widened at this. "They did?" She asked.

Annie smiled even wider and gestured to Tessie and July, who'd been watching their exchange with worried eyes, to come over. At this, both girls came forward and enveloped Molly in a hug that was just tight enough that it didn't aggravate the little girl's bruised condition.

"I'm so glad you're all right, Molly." Tessie whispered into her friend's hair. "We were all so worried about you."

"Yeah," July chimed in, worry and panic still in her voice. "Don't do that again. Please,"

Molly's only response to her friend's pleading was wrapping her tiny arms around July's neck as tears slowly streamed down her cheeks.

"Molly, I need you to promise me something," Annie said gently a few moments later after the girl's embrace had broken, kneeling down in front of the four year old and taking her hand.

Molly sniffled, her tears beginning to halt. "Yeah?" She asked quietly.

"You've gotta promise me that you'll never run away like that again, alright? You scared me half to death, baby. I know that living with Miss Hannigan isn't exactly the best thing in the world, but trust me hen I say it's a lot better than living out on the streets of New York, all alone is. It's so dangerous out there, Molly. I don't want to see you getting hurt."

Molly sniffled again and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her dress. "But, Annie, you run away all the time. How come it's dangerous for me, but it's not for you?"

Annie sighed now, her previous suspicion that it was her own fault Molly ran away in the first place being confirmed. "It's still dangerous for me, Molly...I'm not saying that it isn't. I'm just older than you and I know how to take care of myself better than you do."

Molly hung her head at this. "I didn't mean to scare you, Annie… I just don't like when Pepper yells at me or when Miss Hannigan is mean."

Annie smiled sympathetically. "It's not much fun, is it?" She replied and Molly shook her head.

"Not at all." She agreed.

"It really is very dangerous for you to be out here on your own, baby. I'd feel a lot better if you came home with us, alright? I promise you that we'll make everything better. You've just gotta trust me, Molly. Do you think you can do that for me?"

Molly looked up to her older friend now, her eyes wide with fear, sadness and pain. Annie hadn't yet let her down, unlike all of the other girls in the dormitory and of course, Miss Hannigan. Annie had been the one that was constantly there for her ever since she'd become an orphan. Annie never yelled at her when she got upset or when she had nightmares and Annie always comforted her when needed. And even though she missed her mother so much that it physically hurt her at times, Annie was making her grieving process a little more bearable. Every instinct she had told her to trust Annie and, honestly, she had no reason not to.

"Yeah," the little girl responded now, smiling a little bit, "Yeah I can."

Annie instantly returned her grin as she leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her forehead before she got up and held her hand out for Molly to take. Gratefully, Molly firmly grasped onto it and stood up, wincing a little bit as she did so. It didn't take long for Annie to notice how much pain her friend was in and without a second though, she scooped her up into her arms and began walking towards the orphanage, Tessie and July trailing behind her.

They arrived back at the orphanage fifteen or so minutes later and found Pepper, Kate, and Duffy seated on the front steps with their chins in their palms and matching expressions of guilt on their faces. Shocked when she saw the three of them there and not looking for Molly, Annie gently set her friend down on the ground before walking over and sitting down beside them.

Kate was the first to look up and when she saw Molly standing next to Tessie and July, her eyes widened considerably. "You found Molly?" She asked. "Where?!"

"In the alleyway between the bagel shop and the laundromat. Why'd you guys stop looking?" The little redhead replied, already beginning to get defensive for Molly.

Duffy looked up now, guilt clear in her eyes. "We looked everywhere, Annie...we couldn't find Molly and we didn't know what to do, so we came back."

"You gave up on her." Annie bluntly stated, her protectiveness of Molly beginning to impose on her actions. "You gave up on a four year old all alone out on the streets, where anything could've happened to her."

"We didn't give up on her, Annie," Pepper said, rolling her eyes. "This isn't the time for you to pick another one of your stupid fights."

"Pepper's right," Duffy chimed in, "Isn't what matters that Molly was found and now she's safe and sound?"

Annie shook her head now, her anger beginning to rise. "But what if she hadn't been found? What if she was still out on the streets? Look at her, you guys. She has bruises all over. And you know why? Because she's so young and small and some boys thought it'd be fun to throw stuff at her."

Shame and guilt immediately fell upon Kate and Duffy at these words, their hearts crumbling for what Molly had been put through that day. Sure, she was annoying to them, but she was still only four. She didn't deserve that.

"Well, maybe she wouldn't have all those bruises if she'd been smart and didn't run away," Pepper said, scoffing a little bit. "It's her own fault. Just like it's her fault none of us has had a full night's sleep in three weeks."

Molly looked up sharply at this, an expression of hurt on her face. Walking over to Annie, she threw her arms around the redhead's tiny waist and hid her face in her stomach, beginning to whimper. Annie gently patted her back as she glared at Pepper.

"Come on, Molly, why don't we get you inside and cleaned up?" She said, choosing to ignore the older girl's insults until later that night. She felt Molly nod against her stomach and led her inside the orphanage, going straight up to the second floor bathroom. Once there, she lifted Molly up onto a counter and began to wipe gently at the scrapes on her face with a damp washcloth.

"I hurt all over, Annie," the little girl said miserably, wincing as Annie wiped at her under eye cut. Annie smiled sympathetically.

"I know, baby. I know you do, but I gotta wash these out so they don't get infected, alright? I promise you're going to feel a lot better in just a little while."

Now, Molly reluctantly nodded as Annie finished washing the cuts on her face and set the washcloth down beside her, smiling a little bit at the little girl.

"Here, baby, let me get that dress off you...it's all torn," the redhead said as Molly lifted her arms so Annie could easily pull of her dress. Once it was off and Molly's bare chest was exposed, Annie gasped when she saw the condition her friend was in. There were large welts lining her backside, all looking red and swollen.

"Oh, Molly, baby." Annie said, unsure of what to do. "No wonder you're in so much pain. You've got all these welts on your back. What happened, sweetie?"

Tears began to fill Molly's eyes now and she shook her head softly. "They...they were all so mean, Annie. All them boys. They throwed rocks at me and then one of them...he began hitting my back with a stick. It hurt so much, Annie. It hurts so much."

Horror was Annie's only response to this and now she sat next to Molly on the counter, pulling the four year old into her arms and beginning to rock her back and forth. She'd failed. For the past three weeks, her job had been to protect the little girl in her embrace at all costs. For the past three weeks, she'd fought Miss Hannigan, Pepper and all the girls who were mean to Molly. For the past three weeks, she'd stayed up until the early hours of the morning, waiting until Molly needed comfort from a bad dream. And now she'd failed. Molly had run away, even though Annie slept right next to her and she should've been able to prevent this whole catastrophe. Molly had run away and while she was out on the harsh streets of New York all alone, she'd gotten hurt beyond belief by a group of boys who thought it was fun to pick on a little kid. And the worst part about it all was that Annie had ben the one to give Molly the idea. She'd influenced Molly and now here she was, with brutal welts on her back.

"I'm so sorry, Molly," Annie whispered, leaning her cheek against the top of Molly's head as she continued to rock her little friend back and forth. "I'm so sorry you got hurt, baby. I promise I'll never let it happen again."

Molly reached her arms up now and she began to toy with Annie's locket, smiling weakly up at the eight year old. She might have been in more pain than she'd ever had to endure, in more pain than she should ever had to endure, but at least she was with someone that she knew, without a shred of doubt, loved her.

Soon, the rocking began making Molly tired and within minutes, she was fast asleep in Annie's arms, one hand grasping the locket and the other with her thumb in her mouth. Annie smile down at the sight and she stood with Molly in her arms, heading down towards their dormitory and tucking Molly in with a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"I love you so much, Molly," Annie said quietly as she sat down beside Molly on the bed and gently brushed her hair away from her forehead. "I promise I'll never let you get hurt like this again."

And she meant it. Annie may have failed once, but if she was anything, she was determined and she would make sure Molly would never be subjected to pain like this again.


	2. Chapter 2

After a little while, Annie finally decided to leave Molly alone so she could sleep without any disruption and went to search for the other girls to talk to them about Molly's escape. She was still fairly angry with Duffy, Kate and Pepper for giving up on their search for Molly, even if she necessarily didn't have a right to be. She knew that they tried, but when it came to Molly, trying just wasn't good enough for her.

The amount of guilt she felt for Molly and the fact that she had gotten hurt so badly by whoever these boys were, was so unmeasurable. The poor thing was barely four years old and she didn't deserve to be in pain every time she moved now on top of having to live in constant fear of Miss Hannigan's wrath. The thought that if she had woken up just a little earlier, that if she had paid more attention to Molly and this could've all been prevented, made Annie feel like a failure. She was supposed to protect Molly, which really shouldn't have been a hard thing to do, given the fact that Molly trusted her most out of anyone in the orphanage. And yet, she'd failed. How had that happened?

After two or so minutes of looking, Annie found the other girls in the sewing room, having a conversation about Molly's escape.

"She's so stupid, you guys. It's her own damn fault that she's hurt and bruised now. Annie's only taking pity on her because she's four." Pepper was saying now, leaning up against the wall in her chair with a grimace on her face.

"Can't you give the poor kid a break?" Duffy asked, shaking her head. "She's four, Pepper, not dumb. She didn't know better. And I don't think that those boys were very nice. What kind of person picks on a kid that little?"

"Oh boo hoo." Pepper said, rolling her eyes, "So what, just because she's a little kid that means everyone has to be nice to her? Or she could just grow up and learn that you can't solve everything by running away. She's not always going to have an Annie to protect her. She has to learn to do things on her own."

Having heard more than enough of Pepper's argument with the others, Annie stepped in, ready to defend Molly. "Everyone doesn't _have_ to be nice to her, but someone with a heart would realise that she's awfully little and she really doesn't understand much. Why does it even bother you so much? She's back now. What good is complaining going to do?"

"I'm only complaining because she won't ever shut up and let any of us sleep. You're the first one she calls out to when she has a bad dream. Don't that annoy you?"

Annie sighed. "Well, I mean, it's not exactly something I enjoy, but it's not her fault that she saw her parents die. It's not her fault that they were taken away from her, so I'm trying not to get annoyed with her, unlike you. And anyways, she's only four. She needs someone to take care of her and I don't see Miss Hannigan doing that any time soon."

"Just ignore her, Annie." Duffy advised now, seeing anger clear in the redhead's ice blue eyes and knowing well where that often led. "How's Molly doing?"

"Well," Annie sighed again, her anger disspating at the calm of Duffy's voice. "She's asleep now, which is good. She needs to rest. She's bruised all over." Clenching her fists now, the look of anger returned to Annie's eyes as she thought about how hurt Molly had been. "I wish I knew who the boys that hurt her are. I wish I could give 'em a piece of my mind. She didn't desrve a bit of what they did."

She walked over to a counter, hopped up onto it, and buried her face in her hands, tryng to keep a cap on her emotions. The other girls in the room exchanged a surprise glance at this, not believing that the always brave and put-together Annie was crying. When nobody else stepped forward to offer comfort to the upset girl, Duffy walked over to the counter and sat beside Annie, wrapping a reassuring arm around her.

"Molly's safe now, Annie." The older girl said softly, "She's here. She's home."

Not expecting the contact, Annie looked up, startled, with tears on her cheeks. "You didn't see her, Duffy. You didn't see the welts on her back. They're so much worse than anything Miss Hannigan has ever done. I don't think even _she_ would do anything so awful, to any of us."

A look of shock crossed Duffy's face at this. "Really? What happened to her?"

Annie sniffled. "I guess she was walking by a park or something and some older boys started to tease her. Then, I think one of the must have tripped her and started to hit her with a stick. She could barely walk and it hurt even when I hugged her."

Duffy's eyes increased size considerably at this. "Poor Molly." She commented quietly.

Annie nodded in agreemet, her tears slowly ceasing. "And it's all my fault, Duffy. It's my fault she got hurt so badly because it's my fault she ran away."

Confusion now replaced the shock on Duffy's face. "How so?" She asked, not quite understanding.

"I gave her the idea to run away. She's seen me run away to find my parents and then she did the same. Only she didn't understand how dangerous it was. It's my fault."

Duffy smiled and tightened her hold on Annie. "It's not your fault, Annie. Everyone tries to run away and you know that. Life ain't exactly great here. I think Molly would've done it either way. And anyways, it doesn't matter much anymore, does it? You guys found her and she's back here. She has you to take care of her. Right?"

Annie nodded slightly. "I guess you're right." She hugged Duffy, "Thanks, Duffy."

Duffy smiled even wider and was about to reply when the two girls heard a high-pitched scream from somewhere upstairs. Annie immediately knew the source of the scream once she heard it and she scrambled out of Duffy's embrace, rushing up the stairs and directly into the dormitory. There, she found Molly sitting on her cot, leaned up against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest as she sobbed into them. Annie became concerned at the sight and she sat beside the little girl, pulling her in for a hug.

"Hey, hey, Molly, what's the matter? Annie quietly asked, stroking her friend's hair in a calming manner.

Molly peeked her head out from her knees when she heard her older friend's voice, but the only response she gave to Annie was more sobs.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Annie prodded gently, becoming more concerned at the fact that Molly wouldn't share what was troubling her. Normally, the little girl was more than willing to tell Annie her problems.

"Molly, baby, what's going on?" Annie asked after a few moments of only sob, wrapping her arm around Molly as the four-year-old snuggled further into her side.

Molly hiccuped softly, grasping the fabric of her friend's dress. "They...they was hurting me again, Annie. The boys from the park. And they had a really big stick and they was hurting me. And it hurt. And they even hurt you, Annie." Tears began to stream faster down the little girl's cheeks at this recount and Annie's heart clenched a little.

"You know that's never gonna happen, baby. Those boys aren't gonna hurt you ever again and I'll make sure of that. I'll protect you."

Molly hiccuped again. "What if you can't, Annie?"

Annie smiled down at her friend as she pulled her into her lap. "I'm always gonna protect you, Molly. No matter what happens, alright? It was just a dream, baby. It's not gonna happen. Don't worry."

Molly wrapped her arms around Annie's neck as the older girl began to rock the both of them back and forth. "You promise?"

Annie nodded and kissed Molly's forehead. "I promise. With my whole heart."

Molly smiled and leaned against Annie's shoulder, her eyes beginning to droop a bit.

"Did you wanna sleep a little more, baby? You've had a long day." Annie began to lay Molly down, but the little girl quickly shook her head, panic crossing her face.

"I don't wanna have another nightmare, Annie. I don't wanna go back to sleep. I don't wanna."

Annie smiled warmly as she fully laid Molly down, taking her hand gently and beginning to rub it. "Oh, sweetie. I know that your nightmares are scary, but you need to sleep. What if I stay here with you? Would that make you feel better?"

A look of relief instantly crossed Molly's face and she nodded, squeezing Annie's hand. "Annie, will you sing to me?"

The older girl grinned. "Sure, Molly."

Annie began to softly sing to her little friend, rubbing Molly's palm as the girl's eyes slowly grew heavier and heavier. It took no more than two or three minutes for Molly to fall yet again into a deep sleep and once she had, Annie shifted so that she was more comfy on the cot, with Molly's head in her lap.

She knew that she was taking a risk by being here in the dormitory rather than cleaning as she was expected to, but at the moment, Molly took precedence over everything. Her poor little friend was bruised and beaten and Annie would be there for her no matter what. It was her job.

She was just relieved beyond belief that Miss Hannigan had been too hungover to notice any of them had ever left the orphanage earlier that morning. The punishment they would all have had to suffer through, she knew, wouldn't have been pleasant in the slightest. They'd taken a risk and they'd gotten more than lucky.

"I'm...I'm sorry."

A voice suddenly spoke out from the doorway of the dormitory and Annie's head snapped up abruptly at this. Her eyes widened when she saw the source of the apology, the very last person she'd have expected to see: Pepper.

"What?" Annie asked, confused as she sat up a little straighter and shifted Molly onto a pillow.

"I said that I was sorry," Pepper repeated, stepping a little further into the room. "I'm sorry for how nasty I've been the past couple weeks."

Annie simply stared at Pepper for a few moments, at a loss of what to do or say. She couldn't remember a time before where the older girl had apologised or even shown the slightest bit of remorse, so she was confused, to say the least, at her apology.

"Why? Why are you sorry?" Annie finally asked after five or so minutes, still confused.

Pepper sighed as she walked over and sat down on the cot directly across from Annie's. "Because...because I've been really, really mean. And it's uncalled for. I know that you're doing the best you can with Molly. I know it ain't easy. And I'm sorry."

Cautiously, Annie said, "You've never apologised to anyone before, Pepper. Not for anything. Why are you now?"

A slight smile spread across Pepper's face at this question. "Just...seeing you with Molly today, after she ran away. It's been making me think a lot. I've been way too harsh on her. I'm sure it's partly my fault that she even left in the first place."

Annie lowered her head a bit, not knowing how to respond to this last remark and instantly thinking back to the alleyway earlier on and how Molly seemed almost afraid to come back.

"Was it?" Pepper asked quietly, her voice cracking as she surveyed Annie's face.

Annie rose her head a little and slowly nodded. "I...Molly's just...she's really little, Pepper. She doesn't know how to defend herself yet and she probably won't for awhile. She can't decide whether or not she has nightmares. She just can't. You have to understand that."

Pepper was the one to look down now, guilt beginning to consume her. "I know. It's not her fault. I need to stop acting like it is. I'm just not used to being around little kids. Ain't exactly like there are many living here."

Annie nodded. "I know. You've just gotta try and be patient with her. She'll get better after some time. You just need to let her get there."

"Annie...does she hate me?" Pepper replied, her voice cracking a little more as she very clearly tried to choke back lingering tears.

The redhead smiled now, taking Pepper's hand as she looked down to the sleeping little girl between them. "I really don't think she can hate anyone, to be honest. She's too sweet. Look at her,"

Pepper looked down towards Molly now and smiled at how peaceful the little girl was when she slept, her right hand gripping Annie's tightly as her tiny chest slowly moved up and down with each breath.

"I...I guess you're right," Pepper replied, her voice barely audible. She looked back to Annie now. "Do you hate me?"

Annie looked up, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Of course not. Of course I don't hate you. I don't think you're a bad person."

Pepper seemed to be shocked by this. "You...you don't? Why not? I'm horrible."

"No, you're not." Annie replied, her smile growing even wider as she shook her head, "You just...you get angry a lot. I don't think I can really blame you for that."

Pepper sat up on the cot now and she pulled her knees to her chest, unsure of how to respond.

"Yes, you can," she argued after a minute had passed, "I'm horrible. I'm absolutely awful to you and especially to Molly. How can't you hate me?"

Knowing that there was a good amount of truth to Pepper's argument, Annie simpply replied, "At least you're apologising. You know that you did something wrong and you're trying to fix it. That's not horrible. That's more than what Miss Hannigan does."

At this, Pepper allowed herself a small smile. "Thanks, Annie..."

The younger girl grinned back and she carefully detatched her hand from Molly's tight grasp before leaning forward and hugging Pepper tightly.

Completely surprised at this gesture, Pepper akwardly hugged Annie back.

"We...we should probably get back to work," Annie said quietly after their embrace had broken, hesitatingly glancing towards Molly, "but I don't want to leave her here all alone."

Pepper looked at the sleeping little girl again and shook her head, "I think she'll probably be asleep for awhile, Annie. She's had a pretty rough day."

Annie nodded in agreement. "I know; she has. I'd just feel bad if we left her here. She wanted me to stay with her."

"I know, but think of it like this, Annie. If the both of you are here and not cleaning, Miss Hannigan'll probably get angrier than she would if Molly was the only one not cleaning. At least that way, she'll be more likely to take pity on her. C'mon, Annie, let's go. Molly'll call for you if she needs you."

Standing up, Pepper extended her left hand for Annie to take as she smiled a warm, reassuring smile. The redhead stared at the hand for a few moments before glancing to Molly again. Then, heavily sighing, she took Pepper's hand and let herself be pulled up.

"Thank you, Annie...for not hating me," Pepper said quietly, enveloping Annie in a tight hug once she stood.

"Thanks for saying sorry," Annie whispered, hugging the older girl even tighter. Pepper quickly pulled away and smiled.

"C'mon, let's get to work." She advised, leading the two of them into the sewing room. There, they each took their respective seats at their sewing machines and began to feverishly work on the dresses they'd been neglecting.

After only ten minute, though, Miss Hannigan stumbled into the room, drunk, hungover, or a combination of the two. She managed to make her way to the front of room before she stopped and glared at the girls.

"Line up." She growled angrily and within seconds, the six girls jumped to their feet and assembled a line from tallest to shortest. The slightest bit satisfied, Miss Hannigan went down the line and began doing a head count. Annie held her breath as she did so, terrified that she would notice Molly was missing and then punish her.

Unfortunately, Annie's fear was realized as Miss Hannigan continued doing her head count. When she only came up with six girls instead of seven, a look of confusion crossed her face and she counted again before her confusion turned into anger.

"Wait a minute..." She muttered, slurring a bit. "There's only six of you here and I know for damn sure there's seven in your room. Which one of you is missing?"

The girls exchanged a glance now, not wanting to out Molly and put her through any more pain.

"The little one." Miss Hannigan finally realized who was missing and now she stared Annie directly in the eye, a nasty grimace on her face. "Where is the little one?"

Duffy, Pepper, Tessie, Kate and July looked to Annie now and the little redhead took a deep breath before replying.

"She's asleep." Annie said, her voice barely audible but a hint of defiance evident.

Miss Hannigan's eyes widened at this. "Oh, she's asleep, is she? And why is that? This ain't no hotel. There's no damn reason for her to be asleep."

Annie took another deep breath. "She...she doesn't feel well. I told her to rest. It's my fault, Miss Hannigan. Don't yell at her. Be mad at me, not her. She doesn't deserve it."

Miss Hannigan scoffed now. "Does it look like I care whether she _deserves_ it or not? I don't give a damn if she feels well or not. Her job is to clean and sew, not sleep in the middle of the day. She needs to learn her place."

Annie sighed now, trying to decide what the next best course of action would be. She had to make sure that Miss Hannigan didn't hurt Molly anymore than she already had been, no matter what it meant for her. Molly needed someone to take care of her and be her voice.

"Can't you have a heart for once?" Annie spoke out bravely, giving Miss Hannigan the same exact glare she was receiving.

Miss Hannigan narrowed her eyes at this. "_Excuse_ me?" She spat out angrily.

"Can't you have a heart for once?" Annie repeated, "Don't you see how much Molly's been through since she came here? She's worked way longer than any four year old should ever have to work. And not only that, the dresses she sews are good quality. She makes sure of that. She works so hard, Miss Hannigan. She needs a break every once in awhile. Please. Just let her sleep."

Miss Hannigan seemed to be dumbfounded by the way Annie had spoken to her and she took a few moments to recollect herself before speaking. "Alright, brat. I won't punish her this _one_ time. But you ain't getting off so easy. You can spend the rest of the day in the paddle closet. Maybe that'll teach you not to sass me."

Not for a moment did Annie let her look of defiance leave her face. She had won. She'd vowed to protect Molly and she had won. "Fine." She replied, trying to hide the smirk that she so wanted to show.

Miss Hannigan grabbed her arm tight and led her out of the room now, stumbling a bit as she walked towards the office. Once there, she shoved Annie into the closet and locked the door.

"You'll stay there until I think you've learned your lesson, brat." She stated angrily before crossing back over to her bed and starting on another bottle of gin.

...

"I can't believe Annie did that!" Tessie said incredulously, completely stunned in the wake of Annie's actions.

"And Miss Hannigan didn't even seem that angry!" July replied, in just as much shock. "I can't believe that she didn't make Molly start cleaning again."

"I can," Pepper spoke out now. "Miss Hannigan isn't a horrible person, you guys. She's capable of being nice."

"If she's so nice, then why did she just lock Annie in the closet?" Duffy wearily asked in retort. "If she's so nice, why does she have a closet in the first place?"

Pepper sighed, closing her eyes and thinking of how to explain it without coming off as horrible like the girls already viewed her. She'd lived at the orphanage for seven of her ten years and she could remember a time where Miss Hannigan didn't drink. The other girls didn't. They knew she drank, but they didn't realise that her bitterness was a result of her alcoholism. They didn't realise she truly had a heart of gold hidden underneath all the alcohol she consumed.

"I never said she was nice all the time," Pepper finally said quietly, "but she can be. Like she was today. You have to give her a chance."

Duffy scoffed now. "And why should we? The only reason she didn't send Molly to the closet was because Annie stood up for her. What if Annie hadn't been here? Do you really think Miss Hannigan wouldn't have punished her if nobody was there to tell her otherwise? Molly got lucky today. Really lucky."

In response, Pepper simply sighed again. "I know. But Miss Hannigan isn't totally a bad person. You have to understand that."

The room was quiet for a few moments as Duffy thought of a counter argument. She was surprised that Pepper was defending Miss Hannigan in the first place. If was an unspoken agreement between all the inhabitants of the orphanage that Miss Hannigan was horrible. Nobody questioned that, so why was Pepper defending her now? Especially after Miss Hannigan had sent Annie to the paddle closet.

"I can't understand that, Pepper," the girl finally replied after a minute or so. "Before today, I don't think I've ever seen Miss Hannigan be nice. Sure, she cut Molly a break. But that's one time. That doesn't mean Miss Hannigan's a good person and I don't understand how you can't see it that way."

Feeling anger rise inside of her, Pepper calmly sighed and shook her head. "You know what? Just forget it. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Miss Hannigan said the bathroom needed to be cleaned today or we were gonna pay. Since none of you guys have done it, I guess that leaves me to it." She said, walking out of the room before she started an argument. After all they'd been through today, a huge argument was the last thing any of them needed.

On her way to the bathroom, Pepper passed by their dormitory and paused when she heard soft sniffling from within. Curiosity got the best of her at this and she peeked her head into the room. When she saw Molly curled up on her cot, clutching her stuffed pony tightly as she seemingly tried to keep a cap on her emotions, Pepper's heart went out to the poor girl and she cautiously entered the room. It was no secret that she didn't really know how to deal with little kids, but that didn't mean she didn't care and that she didn't want to try.

Slowly, Pepper walked over to Molly's cot and sat ever so gently on the bed, lightly placing her hand on the small of the younger girl's back.

"Hey, Molly, what's the matter?" The ten year old asked, trying her best to speak with as calming of a tone as she could muster.

Surprised to hear a voice that wasn't Annie's, Molly hesitantly looked up. "P-Pepper?" She asked timidly. Pepper was the last person she'd have expected to ask her what was wrong.

"Yeah, Molly, it's me." Pepper smiled a bit. "What's the matter?"

Now, Molly had no idea what to do. For the past month, every single time she cried, she would always be reprimanded by Pepper to be quiet, but now she was actually asking what was wrong. When had that happened?

"I...I had a nightmare," the four year old replied softly. "I'm sorry for crying. I'm sorry for bothering you."

Pepper's heart nearly broke into two at this apology. There was no questioning now that Molly was afraid of her, not that she should've expected anything different in the first place. Just because Annie had been quick to accept her apology, that didn't necessarily Molly would be, especially since she didn't understand as much as Annie did.

"You don't have to be sorry, Molly." Pepper said, awkwardly beginning to rub Molly's back in response. "I'm sorry that you think you have to. I'm sorry for yelling at you all the time...it's not very nice of me, is it?"

Molly sat up now, wincing in pain as she did so. "I guess not," she replied softly. "Why are you saying sorry?"

Pepper smiled as she wrapped her arm around Molly. "Because I feel bad. It can't be easy for you to deal with all the changes you've been through in the past couple of weeks and I feel bad for making it even harder by yelling so much."

Molly smiled and intertwined her small hand into Pepper's, leaning her head into the older girl's shoulder. "Pepper, where's Annie? She promised she'd stay with me. But she's not here. She left me."

Pepper sighed a little at this. "I'm afraid that Miss Hannigan locked her in the closet, Molly. I don't think she's getting out anytime soon."

"But she promised," Molly said stubbornly, not understanding that Annie didn't have any control over what Miss Hannigan did to her.

"I know, sweetheart," Pepper said, beginning to run her fingers through Molly's hair. "But Miss Hannigan was pretty mad when she heard you were asleep instead of cleaning. Annie told her that it was her fault and she locked her in the closet instead of you. I'm sure she would be here if she could."

"Oh." Molly said, looking down as she tried not to let her lingering tears fall, still the slightest bit apprehensive of what Pepper would do in return.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter?" The older girl asked gently, tilting Molly's chin up towards her. "Why're you crying, Molly?"

Molly sniffled. "My...my nightmare. It,,,.it was scary, Pepper. And I wanna tell Annie about it. Only she's not here."

Pepper smiled slightly. "I know that I'm not as nice as Annie is, Molly, but do you wanna tell me about it?"

"It was...it was Miss Hannigan, Pepper." The little girl said, her tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.

"What about her?" Pepper prompted, a bit surprised at how easily comforting the little girl came to her.

"She...she was drinking a lot. And she got mad at me cause I didn't clean the bedroom quickly enough, so she locked me in the closet. And then she hit me and it hurt a lot. And Annie wouldn't save me." Molly's tears began more pronounced as she recounted her dream.

Pepper pulled Molly onto her lap now, brushing her bangs away from her forehead as she smiled widely. "Oh, Molly," she said sympathetically. "I don't think you have to worry about that ever happening, alright? Miss Hannigan isn't that bad of a person and, besides, even if she did try to hurt you like that, Annie would make sure she didn't."

Sniffling again, Molly responded, "You really think so?"

Pepper smiled and ruffled the little girl's hair. "Are you kidding me? I know so! Annie loves you so, so much, Molly. She wouldn't take care of you the way she does if she didn't."

Molly allowed herself a smile now as she squeezed Pepper's hand tight, starting to look sleepy again. Pepper slowly shifted Molly into a cradling position and began to gently rock her back and forth.

"How about you go back to sleep, Molly? I promise that I'll stay here with you until Annie gets out of the closet, alright? I won't leave you. I'll be here. I'll make sure that you don't have any more nightmares."

Molly's smile only got wider as she nodded the slightest bit, closing her eyes and slowly drifting off into another state of slumber. Pepper continued to rock her back and forth, finding the weight of the four year old in her arms strangely comforting to her. It felt nice to be needed and now she was questioning just why she had been so nasty to Molly all these weeks. The little girl was really quite sweet when you really spoke to her. Sure, she cried a majority of the day, but what four year old in her position wouldn't?

"I promise, Molly," Pepper whispered into the empty room, looking down at Molly with a smile on her face. "I promise to be better, alright? I promise to be nicer. I promise to be more patient with you."

And almost as if Molly could hear Pepper in her sleep, the slightest hint of a smile crept onto the little girl's face as her grasp on Pepper's hand only got tighter.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I'm not quite sure where this story is heading (I never was, even when I began it), but man, has it taken off. I am enjoying writing this immensely and I hope all of you are enjoying reading it. I want to thank everyone who's taken the time to review this so far. It means a lot to me! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

"What the _hell_ do you think you're _doing_?"

Sometime later, the dreaded high pitched voice of Miss Hannigan filled the dormitory, which previously had been silent except for the heavy breathing of the little girl sound asleep in Pepper's arms.

Startled when she heard the voice, Pepper quickly looked up and muttered a profanity beneath her breath before replying.

"I...I was holding Molly...so she doesn't get any nightmares. Well, any more, that is." She replied quietly, hoping beyond hope that Annie's talk with her earlier had made an impact on her.

No such luck, it seemed, for now Miss Hannigan menacingly crept towards the two of them with a look of disgust and hatred on her face.

"Listen, brat. It's bad enough that I'm losing two people's worth of work for today, I ain't about to lose three. Get to work." She gripped Pepper's arm tightly, jerking her forward and effectively awakening Molly.

"Pepper?" The little girl asked tiredly, not noticing Miss Hannigan.

"Oh, look at that. Both of you are awake. Guess I can finally punish _you_." Miss Hannigan looked Molly directly in the eye. "And you can get back to work." She looked to Pepper now, who protectively shielded Molly.

"Punish?" The older girl asked meekly. "Punish for what?"

Miss Hannigan scoffed. "For sleeping instead of working. Just because I didn't immediately wake her up don't mean she's getting off easy. She needs to learn her place. Come along, brat."

Now, Miss Hannigan harshly yanked Molly off Pepper's lap, causing the four year old to cry out in pain due to the bruises all along her arms.

"What the hell's your problem?" Miss Hannigan asked, annoyed.

Molly sniffled loudly, knowing all too well how angry Miss Hannigan got when she cried in front of her. "Nothin'." She replied softly, biting her lip so that she didn't yelp when Miss Hannigan gripped her arm tighter

"That's what I thought." Miss Hannigan sneered, shoving Molly out of the room and to her office. Once they arrived, she pushed the little girl towards wooden chair in the corner of the room as she drunkenly stumbled to the closet and unlocked it. Annie immediately jumped to her feet when she heard the click of the lock and when she saw Molly cowering on the chair, bravely keeping her tears from falling with a look of absolute terror on her face, her heart broke.

"Molly!" She exclaimed quietly, no longer caring about whatever Miss Hannigan would do to her. She had to make sure Molly was safe.

"I've decided to let you out early," Miss Hannigan grumbled angrily to Annie. "You've had your punishment. Now it's her turn." She jerked her head towards Molly, whose face had gone pale as she thought of what Miss Hannigan might do.

"You...you're not going to hurt her, are you?" Annie asked, wincing when she realised that Miss Hannigan reeked of alcohol.

The woman snorted now. "And why the hell wouldn't I? Because of her, I lost two dresses being made today, which means that I lost two dresses worth of money. You think it's easy to provide for you kids? It's not. I need that money." She replied, slurring her words a little.

"You can't hurt her, Miss Hannigan." Annie defiantly stated now.

"Oh, and who made you the judge of what I can and cannot do? Are you the one running this place?"

The redhead quickly shook her head, biting her tongue since she knew what she was about to say wouldn't have made the situation any better for her or for Molly. "Please." She said instead, "Please don't hurt her. She's little, Miss Hannigan, and she wasn't feeling well. I told her to rest. It's my fault."

Again, Miss Hannigan snorted. "Listen to me, kid. I don't give a _damn_ if it was your fault or not. The bottom line is that the brat fell asleep in the middle of the day when she knew damn well she needed to be working. And she needs to be punished."

"Why?" Annie challenged, staring Miss Hannigan directly in the eye. "Why does Molly have to be punished?"

Perplexed by this question, Miss Hannigan had to think for a moment before she replied. "Because, brat," she snipped, "I said so. And why the hell haven't you left yet? I'm letting you out. Go. Clean."

Glancing at Molly for the briefest of seconds and seeing that she was beyond terrified, the redhead then narrowed her eyes at Miss Hannigan. "No." She replied, "I'm not leaving."

"Excuse me?" Miss Hannigan asked, her anger growing rapidly.

"I'm not leaving Molly all alone. Not here."

Miss Hannigan smirked now. "Oh, yes you are." She said, grabbing Annie by the arm, shoving her out of the room and locking the door behind her. Once Annie was gone, she turned back towards Molly, who had finally started to cry out of absolute terror.

"Please don't hurt me," the little girl pleaded, her words barely coherent. "I promise I'll be real good, Miss Hannigan. I'll never, ever fall asleep again. Please."

In return, Miss Hannigan simply stared at the four year old, her heart beginning to soften the slightest bit at Molly's pleading. Sure, she hated children beyond belief, but that didn't exactly equate to her abusing them for fun. She would be a liar had she said she'd never hit a kid, but she only did so if she thought they truly deserved it. And Molly, she knew, didn't. Overall, the little girl had been relatively well behaved ever since arriving at the orphanage. And even if she wasn't, she _was_ only four years old. Compared to the other girls, her actions and mistakes could be justified by how young she was. So what if she fell asleep in the middle of the day? Four year olds _did_ that. Did she really deserve to be punished today?

Now, Miss Hannigan stole another glance at Molly. The poor little thing was scared out of her mind, trembling on the wooden chair as tears rapidly poured down her face. She'd been punished enough, Miss Hannigan finally concluded, as she began to slowly walk towards the chair and knelt down in front of it.

When she heard the footsteps approaching her, Molly cautiously lifted her head, hiccuping with sobs as she did so. "Please." She said again and Miss Hannigan mustered a small smile.

"Do you promise it'll never happen again?" The woman asked quietly.

Not expecting this, Molly was confused for a moment before she quickly nodded, wiping the remainder of her tears away with the sleeve of her dress. "I promise."

"Alright, then," Miss Hannigan declared, "Go on. Get back to work. Start on your dress."

A wide smile spread across Molly's face now. "Really?!" She asked, in disbelief.

Miss Hannigan nodded. "And don't make me regret it."

Without a second thought, Molly now hopped off the chair and ran out of the office, doing her best to ignore the immense pain walking brought her. Once she'd left the office, the little girl then headed downstairs in search of Annie and her other roommates. She found the six of them only moments later in the sewing room, having idle conversation as they worked on their dresses.

Molly stood in the doorway for a couple minutes, too shy to announce her presence and in too much pain to walk over to where Annie was sitting. After five or so minutes and nobody noticing she was there, though, Molly finally bit back the pain and walked over to her older friend.

"Annie," she said softly, tugging at her friend's sleeve and trying not to start crying again, but rapidly losing that battle. After the day she'd had, all she wanted was a hug and her mother.

"Molly?" Annie asked in surprise, looking down when she felt the tug of her sleeve. What was Molly doing back here so soon? She had been so sure that Miss Hannigan was going to do something drastic to Molly after seeing just how drunk she'd been back in her office.

Without speaking, Molly gently hopped up onto Annie's bench, wincing as she did so. Annie immediately put down the fabric for her dress and wrapped her arm around the little girl, smiling warmly at her.

"Hey, baby, what happened? Did Miss Hannigan hurt you? Are you alright?"

Snuggling into Annie's side, Molly nodded but still didn't reply vocally. Annie giggled a little bit and lifted Molly onto her lap, pulling her in close. Judging by the girl's actions, Annie could tell all Molly needed was someone to hug and cuddle her. And she was happy to comply.

.Miss Hannigan didn't hurt me, Annie." Molly replied after a couple of minutes, pulling away from the embrace and looking up at Annie, her large brown eyes gleaming with tears. "She was gonna, but then I asked her not to and she got real quiet and then she told me to start working on my dress."

Now, Annie was shocked. Miss Hannigan hadn't punished Molly? Was she feeling okay? Back in the office, she seemed so angry, not only with herself but especially with Molly. What changed her mind?

"Did she punish you?" Annie asked and Molly shook her head, smiling.

"She made me promise that it wouldn't ever happen again. But that's it."

Choosing not to question it, Annie simply returned her friend's grin and ruffled her hair. "Well, that's good. How're you feeling?"

Molly's face scrunched up. "I still hurt a lot, Annie, but I know I gotta work or Miss Hannigan's gonna get mad at me."

At this statement, Annie only smiled wider, admiring how hard her little friend worked. "I think you just need to take a break today, baby. I'll stay up late and sew your dress for you, alright? You're hurt. I want you to rest."

Gratefully, Molly smiled. "You'd really do that for me, Annie?"

The redhead kissed her friend's forehead. "Of course I would, baby. I'd do anything for you. Now, did you wanna go back and rest or did you want to stay here with us? You can watch me sew if you want."

"I wanna stay with you, Annie." The four year old declared, snuggling into her friend's side again.

Annie wrapped her arm around her in a warm hug for a couple moments before she pulled away, knowing she needed to work instead of focus on Molly like she had been for the majority of the day. Dresses needed to be sewed.

"You wanna help me, Molly?" Annie asked as she turned back to her fabric. Molly eagerly nodded.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed excitedly and Annie smiled, instructing Molly on what to do before the two of them went to work on the dress.

...

Within only two or so hours, Molly began to get sleepy again and after an uneventful dinner of cold mush, Annie brought her little friend back up to their dormitory so she could be tucked in for the night.

"Goodnight, Molly." Annie said gently, wrapping Molly's covers tight around her small figure. "I love you very, very much. Sleep well, okay? If you need me tonight, you know where I am. If you're in any pain, I want you to let me know."

Molly smiled up at her older friend, clutching her stuffed pony tightly as her eyelids slowly got heavier. "Annie?" She mumbled sleepily.

"Hmm?" The redhead replied, sitting on the edge of the bed and stroking Molly's hair softly.

"I love you."

A wide smile broke out onto Annie's face now. "I love you, too, baby. Very, very much. But it's getting late for you now. Get to sleep."

Complying, Molly turned on her side and fell asleep before Annie could walk towards the doorway of the room. A wide smile on her face, Annie simply watched her little friend sleep for a couple moments before she went to find the rest of her friends in the recreation room.

"Hey, Annie," Duffy said, smiling when the redhead came in. "How's Molly doing?"

Annie smiled back as she sat down beside her friend. "She's asleep again. She was really tired. I just hope she doesn't have any bad dreams tonight. She could use some rest, especially after the day she's had."

"What did Miss Hannigan do to her? She came back to the sewing room pretty fast," July said, lowering her voice to a whisper now that the majority of the younger girls were heading to bed. Miss Hannigan may have been cruel, but she did let the older kids maintain a bedtime for the younger ones.

Still confused herself about the answer to this question, Annie replied, "Molly said she really didn't do anything. She said she was really upset and I guess she begged Miss Hannigan not to hurt her, and she did. I asked if she punished her at all, but apparently, Molly only had to promise it wouldn't ever happen again."

At hearing this, four pairs of eyes, all the girls', grew wide in shock. All the girls, that is, except for Annie and Pepper.

"I don't believe it," Kate said, shaking her head. "Miss Hannigan didn't hurt Molly _and_ she didn't punish her? That's never happened. To any of us."

"She's always been so mean," Tessie commented softly. "Why wasn't she today?"

"It's not like she cares about any of us," Duffy added, looking up at Annie, who sighed in return.

She didn't quite believe it herself, but she couldn't admit that it wasn't a surprise to her. Miss Hannigan had seemed...different all day. Not that it was an usual event she made her appearance in the morning hungover, this morning she had seemed hungover and drunk at the same time. And when she'd begged Miss Hannigan not to wake Molly, the woman seemed to have actually taken it to heart. Something was definitely going on with their caretaker, so even though it was more than unusual for Miss Hannigan not to punish Molly, it wasn't a surprise.

"That ain't true." Pepper spoke out boldly after a few moments had passed in silence. "Yeah, she's horrible to us, but don't think for a second she doesn't care. If she didn't care, she wouldn't give us food that's not completely inedible."

"That's her job, dummy." Kate retorted, rolling her eyes. "She gets paid to feed us and keep us alive. It's not like it would look great if we died under her care."

"I've been at another orphanage," July said meekly, "and the food there was awful. At least the food here doesn't make you sick every time you eat it. And there are warm blankets. At the other place, we had to use old coats."

"See?" Pepper pointed out. "She doesn't hate us, you guys. She drinks a lot and that's what makes her so angry. Have any of you ever seen her sober? I haven't, not for years. I can barely remember a time where she didn't drink, but I know there was."

"So why does she drink, then?" Tessie asked. "Why does she drink if she knows it makes her angry?"

And there was the million dollar question. _Why_? Why did Miss Hannigan do half of the things she did? Why did she drink? Why did she enable her criminal brother by giving him money each time he got out of jail? Why did she flirt with every man who crossed paths with her? Pepper didn't know the answer and she didn't want to begin to understand any of the hardships Miss Hannigan had been through, but she didn't believe for a split second that the woman was all bad. Nobody was all bad. That just wasn't human nature.

"I don't know," the ten year old said instead, quietly. "I don't know why she drinks, but I don't think she actually hates us. She didn't hurt Molly today. She didn't punish her. That counts for something, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it counts for Molly being scared to death and Miss Hannigan not wanting to deal with what we would do if she hurt her," Duffy said dryly. "It doesn't mean she actually cares about us. It doesn't mean she actually wants us to be happy."

"Guys," Annie said, a simple warning tone in her voice. She could tell Pepper was beginning to get angry and, being completely and utterly exhausted from the day's events, she didn't want to deal with an argument between her roommates.

"You're so stupid, you know that?" Pepper snipped back, completely ignoring Annie's warning. "Of course she cares. She does her best."

Duffy scoffed. "I'm the stupid one? Pepper, she hits us. Every single time we mess up. She locks Molly in the closet for having bad dreams. She makes us get up at four in the morning sometimes. She feeds us mush. How does that make her caring?"

"Guys, can please we not do this tonight?" Annie asked tiredly. "Miss Hannigan was acting weird today. We can all agree on that, alright? I don't know what's going on, but it's not like any of us can really guess or know the answer, right? It's been a long day. I don't want to listen to you fight."

Duffy looked down guiltily now. "You're right," she agreed. "Fighting isn't going to do anything good. Let's just get to bed. We finished our dresses for today. Even Molly's is done. Please. I just want to sleep."

The girls grumbled now, not exactly tired, but also not daring to question Duffy's authority. In silence, the six of them made their way to their dormitory, got ready for bed, and crawled into their respective cots. Tonight, Annie decided she needed to be by Molly's side and so instead of sitting on the window ledge and idly watching the cars pass by the orphanage, she sat on her cot, the one directly next to Molly's, and sang quietly to herself as the others fell asleep.

...

"Annie?" A small girl's terrified voice spoke out into the dormitory, interrupting the previous still silence that had blanketed the room. After a few moments had gone by and Annie hadn't acknowledged her, Molly hopped off her cot and leaned forward to Annie's, pulling her cocoon of covers off of her.

"Annie?" She repeated quietly and this time, the redhead stirred for the briefest of moments before she grunted and just pulled the covers over herself again.

"Annie." Molly said once more, whimpering a bit and pulling the covers off Annie again.

"Hmm, what?" Annie finally mumbled, opening her eyes slightly. When she saw Molly standing by the side of her bed, she quickly sat up, instantly becoming aware of her surroundings and what was going on.

"Annie...I'm...I'm sorry," the little girl said once she knew she had Annie's full attention, tears beginning to drip onto her cheeks.

Concern immediately filled the tiny redhead at this.

"Sorry for what, baby?" Annie whispered, patting the spot on the bed next to her and gesturing for Molly to come sit. The four year old quickly complied and Annie wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"What's going on, sweetie? Did you have a bad dream?" The redhead asked gently, not expecting this to be the case since Molly seemed much calmer than she normally was when she had a bad dream.

"No." The little girl whimpered, but not giving any more of an answer than that about what was bothering her.

"Then, what's the matter, sweetheart? What's got you so upset?" Annie kissed her friend's forehead, waiting patiently for a response.

The only one she received, though, was Molly pointing to her cot, sniffling a tiny bit. Confused by this, Annie peered forward to find a rather large dark spot standing the sheets. There wasn't much of a question about the source of the stain and now Annie turned to Molly, cupping her face in her hands and smiling warmly.

"Did you have an accident, baby?" The redhead asked gently.

Molly quickly nodded. "I'm so sorry, Annie," she replied ashamedly. "I dunno what happened. I went to sleep and then I woke up and I was wet and I'm sorry. Please don't yell at me. I'm so sorry,"

Before Molly could work herself up too much, Annie quickly pulled her in tighter and kissed her forehead. "Hey, baby, calm down. It's alright. I'm not mad and its not like it's something we can't fix. Don't worry. I'm not gonna yell."

Gratefully, Molly smiled back up at Annie, tears lingering in her eyes. She briefly glanced to her cot and then back to Annie, sniffling. "Annie, will you help me clean up? Please?"

"Of course I will, baby," Annie said, grinning widely before she broke her embrace with Molly and began to strip the dirty sheets off her cot. She tried to be mindful of how loudly she did this, since it was around three in the morning, but unfortunately, she woke Pepper up in the process.

"What's going on?" The ten year old asked, disoriented as she got up from her cot and walked over to Annie and Molly.

The youngest of the girls now looked up to the redhead, profoundly embarrassed about what had happened and pleading with her eyes for Annie not to tell Pepper. The redhead smiled at her little friend, ruffled her hair, and turned towards Pepper.

"It's nothing," she said quickly, hoping Pepper wouldn't question more. "Molly just needed me to do something for her. I'm sorry we woke you,"

Now, Pepper raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Annie," she said, "I wanna know. What's going on? Is Molly alright?"

Molly clutched Annie's hand tightly. It was bad enough that she had to get Annie to help her with this, but to have to get Pepper involved, too? That was just about the worst thing ever. She hadn't forgotten about how nice the older girl was earlier on in the day, but she also hadn't forgotten about all the times she'd been yelled at by her. If Pepper knew that she'd wet the bed, there was a good chance that she would never hear the end of it and she didn't want to take her chances.

"Please don't tell, Annie." the little girl whispered now, looking up to Annie with a look of desperation in her eyes.

At hearing this, Pepper's heart nearly crumbled. Molly was afraid, and this time it wasn't of a monster in her dream. Molly was afraid of her. Obviously, she knew repairing the damage she'd done in the little girl's first few weeks at the orphanage wouldn't be as easy as comforting her after one nightmare, but she also didn't think Molly was truly afraid of her.

Now, she smiled widely and came over to the little girl, kneeling down in front of her. "Hey, Molly, look at me." She said quietly.

"Yeah?" The four year old asked, timidly looking at Pepper.

"I'm not going to make fun of you, okay? Whatever it is. I promise. I just want to know because I'm curious, not because I want to be mean. Can Annie tell me?"

Molly looked from Annie to Pepper and then back again, thinking about it for a moment before she cautiously nodded. "I guess," she relented.

Annie smiled and squeezed her hand before explaining. "I was just helping Molly take the sheets off her bed and get changed into new pajamas because she had an accident. It's really no big deal. She's gonna be fine."

"I'm sorry for waking you, Pepper." The four year old said regretfully and now the ten year old stepped forward to ruffle Molly's hair.

"Like Annie said, Molly, it's no big deal. I'm not mad." She looked to Annie and smiled. "Do you want any help?"

Annie let go of Molly's hand and stepped closer to Pepper, so that the younger girl wouldn't hear what she was about to say. "Molly's just really upset and I just want to get her back to sleep as soon as I can. Do you mind taking care of the dirty sheets?"

"Of course," Pepper smiled widely and scooped up the dirty sheets as Annie turned back to Molly, a wide smile on her face.

"Alright, Missy. Let's get you changed and back into bed, alright?"

"I don't have any more pajamas, Annie," Molly said softly, her eyes widening with concern at this newfound dilemma.

Annie smiled and smoothed Molly's bangs away from her forehead. "Shh, don't worry, baby. It's okay. I can lend you my extra nightgown. We can take care of it."

"Thanks, Annie," Molly replied gratefully, taking Annie's extended hand and letting herself be led into the dormitory so she could change.

"Can I sleep with you tonight, Annie?" Molly quietly asked once she was in her friend's nightgown. "My bed's all dirty."

Annie giggled and nodded. "Of course you can, baby. C'mon, let's tuck you in." She took Molly by the hand again and laid her down in her cot.

"I'm sorry, Annie," the little girl said again once she was tucked in, a look of guilt clear on her face. Annie smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Molly, you don't have to be sorry for this, alright? It's just like having a nightmare. You can't control it, yeah? Don't be sorry,'

'Really?" Molly seemed surprised by this and Annie smiled even wider, sitting down in the edge of the cot and reaching out to stroke her hair.

"Really, baby. You do need to go to sleep now, though. It's really late and you could use the rest. Don't worry about what happened tonight. It's all taken care of. Pepper and I have it under control."

"And you won't tell anyone?" Apprehension crossed Molly's face again and Annie took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"Of course I won't, sweetheart. Now, come on. Get to sleep. I'll be right here if you need me."

Molly saw no reason to put up protest to this and now she turned over onto her side, clutching her stuffed pony tightly and falling asleep fairly quick. A couple moments later, Pepper came back upstairs and smiled wearily at Annie, coming to sit down on Molly's cot.

"Thanks for helping," Annie whispered gratefully.

"Of course," Pepper smiled wider, directing her eyes back to Molly. "Annie, are you sure she's not afraid of me? It sure seemed like it tonight."

Annie smiled. "She's not scared, Pepper. I think she was just more upset more than anything else. I don't think she even wanted me to know."

"I thought she told you everything," the older girl muttered, though not unkindly.

"I don't think it's so much of her wanting to tell me everything, but her needing to. She can't take care of herself like you or I can and I'm the only one she has to rely on. Honestly, I think she would do everything on her own if she was older and she knew how to. She just can't."

"Does she ever bother you? Do you ever wish you could just tell her to get lost?"

Annie sighed. "Sometimes, but not really. I can't blame her for being little, Pepper. I can't blame her for not being able to care for herself and I can't blame her for wanting me around. I mean, yeah, sometimes she annoys me, but I'd do anything for her. I don't think that's ever gonna change"

Before she let herself become too sappy, Pepper said, "It's late. We should get to sleep. Who knows what kind of punishments Miss Hannigan has in store for us tomorrow?"

Annie gave a halfway smile. "I guess you're right. Thanks, Pepper. Goodnight,"

Pepper rose from Molly's cot. "Night, Annie," she whispered back, walking back to her cot and wrapping herself underneath her covers. Maybe what she needed to do was take lessons from Annie on how to care for little kids. She wanted to be there for Molly just as much as Annie was.

...

The next morning, Annie again woke to a blinding sunlight streaming in through the windows of the dormitory. Once she opened her eyes and realised the rest of the girls were still fast asleep, she pulled her thin cloth blanket over her body and closed her eyes, fully intending to go back to sleep.

Try as she might, though, she just wasn't able to drift off again. Her mind was racing as she tried and tried to comprehend what was going on lately in the orphanage.

The previous day, Miss Hannigan had seemed almost nice, which could be described as way more than a rare occurrence. She was nice and now for the second day in a row, she hadn't woken them up at a godforsaken hour. How much alcohol had she been drinking lately? And what was it doing to her?

When Annie had been in the office with her the night before, she was expecting s horrific punishment for the way she had been talking back. But then, not only did she not seem to care all that much, she also let Molly go with only a warning.

Was Pepper right? She'd made a good point when she asked if any of them had ever seen a sober Miss Hannigan. Annie herself could barely remember when Miss Hannigan didn't drink, but she knew for sure there was a time that was the norm. Maybe it was the alcohol that made her bitter and maybe she'd had a try at sobriety the day before.

Or maybe, Miss Hannigan was just doing what the rest of them were and taking pity on Molly. The woman wasn't heartless and she knew darn well how little Molly was. Of course, that hadn't stopped her from locking the little girl in the closet twice due to being startled awake when Molly had cried out from s nightmare.

This whole thing was all very confusing and even though Annie hated to admit it, maybe she was simply too young to understand. Pepper, at ten, was two years older than she and she seemed to have a pretty good grasp on everything. Annie took pride in the fact that she was abnormally mature for her age, but she was still only eight and some of the things adults did or said didn't make sense.

Deciding to let the whole issue go for now, Annie sat up and looked around the room, yawning softly. Except for her, everyone was asleep and the room was silent, which the redhead found strangely comforting. She liked silence, especially when the majority of her days were spent fighting battle after battle.

Now, Annie shifted herself on the bed and looked down at Molly, smiling gently when she saw how peaceful the little girl seemed. She looked almost laughably in Annie's extra nightgown, clutching her beloved toy pony tight and softly snoring. Luckily, things had been peaceful for the rest of the night once Annie settled Molly down for bed after her accident. She hadn't been woken up again, which she hoped meant her little friend had had no nightmares. Maybe she was slowly working her way through her grief with her parents' death.

The redhead took her eyes away from Molly and looked over to Pepper's cot now, smiling when she noticed even Pepper looked cute when she was asleep. She was still shocked by how nonplussed the ten year old was at being woken up by Molly's accident and she was downright dumbfounded by how she offered to help clean up. Had it been a normal night, not only would Pepper be annoyed by the interruption of her sleep, but she wouldn't be quiet about it.

Then again, as of late, nothing in the orphanage had been normal. Miss Hannigan wasn't her usual nasty self Pepper...Pepper was just acting peculiar and it confused Annie to no end. The peace was nice, of course, but she couldn't help but think it meant trouble was brewing some way or another.

Suddenly, a bed creaked and snapped Annie to attention. Tessie had woken up and she was sitting up, looking around with confusion evident on her face at the fact that Miss Hannigan wasn't demanding anything of.

"Morning, Tessie." Annie whispered, rising to her feet and joining her friend on her cot.

"Morning, Annie," the little girl greeted, smiling. "What time is it?"

Annie directed her eyes to the clock that hung above the doorway now and was shocked to see it was half past nine. That was the longest she'd been allowed to sleep in ages, if ever.

"Nine forty." The redhead replied, her confusion growing rapidly. What in the world was happening?"

Tessie's eyes widened. "Really? And Miss Hannigan hasn't come in?"

"I guess not," Annie shook her head, at a complete loss. "What is going on?"

Now, another bed creaked, interrupting Tessie's response. The two girls turned their heads and saw Kate slowly sitting up, yawning tiredly.

"Morning, Kate," they chorused in unison, wearing matching smiles on their faces as Kate joined them on the cot.

"I can't believe that Miss Hannigan hasn't come in. It's almost ten. In. The. _Morning_." Tessie was shell shocked.

"What? It is?" Kate asked, her expression the same as Tessie's at this revelation. "Wow."

"Maybe...maybe someone should go check on Miss Hannigan." Annie suggested quietly, "Maybe something's wrong."

Tessie and Kate slightly nodded in agreement, but neither volunteering to take the plunge. Miss Hannigan was terrifying.

Annie couldn't blame them and, sighing, she got up and crossed over to Pepper's cot. Pepper was almost as brave as she was. She could handle Miss Hannigan.

"Pepper," Annie whispered, shrugging the covers off the girl.

"What?" Pepper mumbled, her eyes still kept closed.

"You-you need to go check on Miss Hannigan, Pepper. It's almost ten in the morning and she hasn't come in yet."

Pepper's eyes popped open now, fear rising inside of her. "She hasn't?" She shakily asked, sitting up.

Annie gravely shook her head. "No, and I'm really worried."

"I don't blame you." Pepper muttered, standing up. "Listen, I'll go check on her, but don't worry yet. Maybe she just stayed up too late. Wake the others and start cleaning, just in case."

"Alright," Annie replied, concern on her face. Pepper gave her a weak, but reassuring smile before she very nearly sprinted out of the room and began to make her way to Miss Hannigan's office.

She wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but she was terrified to see what state she would find their caretaker in. In all her seven years at the orphanage, she could count on one hand the number of times she had actually woken up naturally and not by Miss Hannigan throwing out demands. The past two days, actually, Miss Hannigan had seemed a bit...detached. She wasn't telling them to clean with the venom she usually did and in a way, it pleased Pepper, but it also worried her. She knew full well that Miss Hannigan had been through a lot in her life (even if she didn't exactly know the nitty gritty details) and she also knew she drank to drown it out. But...what if it alcohol wasn't good enough anymore? What if life had become too much lately and what if she wasn't able to handle it?

As this thought crossed her mind, Pepper quickened her pace and ran down the stairs, directly going to Miss Hannigan's room. She cautiously opened the door and was immediately greeted with the putrid stench of alcohol enveloping the room. Gagging slightly, the girl quietly crept into the room, almost as if the world was about to explode. As she came closer to Miss Hannigan's bed, she saw the woman laying almost lifeless on her bed, one arm hanging over the edge of the bed and the other clutching an empty gin bottle. There were at least a dozen empty bottles of alcohol surrounding her, which concerned the ten year old immensely. She knew Miss Hannigan drank, but all these bottles seemed like a whole lot-even for her.

A sad expression crossed Pepper's face as she looked closer at Miss Hannigan's face, feeling horrible at how hopeless the woman seemed, even when she was asleep. What had happened in her life to make her so...so lifeless and bitter? She'd never heard Miss Hannigan say anything remotely positive and she didn't think she'd heard a genuine laugh from her, either.

"Miss Hannigan?" Pepper asked now, grabbing the hand that was hanging off the edge and nearly dropping it when she realised it was ice cold. Silence now pierced the room and the girl suddenly noticed that Miss Hannigan was taking shallow and laboured breaths. This worried her even more and she began to lightly shake Miss Hannigan, hoping that would wake her from the state she was in. The effort was to no avail, though, for Miss Hannigan stayed limp and cold, her breaths only seeming to become shallower and shallower.

"Miss Hannigan?" Pepper repeated, her worry growing rapidly. Again, Miss Hannigan didn't stir. Pepper squeezed her hand tightly, praying to see some semblance of life, no matter how small it was.

"Miss Hannigan? It's Pepper. It's...it's time to wake up now...It's almost ten in the morning." Pepper, realising that she was way in over her head. began to shake Miss Hannigan harder. The woman still gave no response and now Pepper realised just how pale she was. Pale and thin, it was almost as if you could count her ribs and see her veins.

For a couple minutes, Pepper continued to try and stir Miss Hannigan, but only grew more and more hopeless the longer she did so. What in the world was she supposed to do now? Go back to the other girls and admit that Miss Hannigan couldn't be woken? And then what? She was among the oldest in the orphanage, which meant everyone else looked up to her for guidance. Normally, doing so was an easy feat. She was ten. She was powerful. She could do anything.

But this was more than she knew what to do with. Miss Hannigan was an alcoholic and Pepper had no experience at all with alcohol or what it did to someone. It wasn't like she had many other people to ask about it, either. The only other person that was older than her was Duffy (only by two and a half months, though), and Pepper highly doubted her ability to handle the situation with any more grace than she could. The only other person Pepper was thinking about asking was Annie, but even then, she was only eight. Leaving Miss Hannigan here alone was not an option, though. However much alcohol the woman had consumed the night before could very well be killing her right before Pepper's eyes and the ten year old knew she couldn't let that burden weigh on her shoulders. She had to do something, but what?

Looking back to the pale and sickly woman, Pepper sighed, attempting to stir her in her own once more before going to find the other girls in the sewing room. The normal busy chatter that filled the room while they were working was missing today and each of the girls had a sullen look on their face, almost as if they already knew what was happening. Immediately, Pepper crossed over to Annie when she came in the room, a concerned look on her face.

"Is Miss Hannigan okay?" The redhead whispered quietly, wearing a matching expression of concern on her face. "Is she awake?"

Slowly, Pepper shook her head. "Annie...I can't wake her up. I went into her room and she was completely passed out. There were bottles of alcohol everywhere, all empty. I can't wake her up. I don't know what to do."

"What?" Annie asked, in pure disbelief. "You can't?"

Pepper shook her head again. "I did everything I could think of. She looked awful, too. Her skin was all pale and she looked sick."

"We've got to do something," Annie murmured, deep in thought.

"Yeah, but what?" Pepper replied, just as hopeless as the redhead was. "You don't think that she's dying because of the alcohol, do you?"

Panic crossed across Annie's face now. "She can't be dying, Pepper. What about the rest of us? Who's gonna take care of us?" Even though she tried to control it, tears sprung to her eyes and she took Pepper's hand, grasping it tightly.

Pepper tried to smile reassuringly. "Hey, hey, don't go there, Annie. Don't do that to yourself. Miss Hannigan's not gonna die."

"You can't promise that." The redhead stated wisely. "Who knows what she's been drinking? You can't promise Miss Hannigan will be okay. You just can't."

"I know," Pepper admitted, feeling hopeless and angry. "But I'll try. Come on, why don't you come with me? Maybe you can figure out how to wake her up."

"Alright," Annie agreed shakily. She quickly told Molly that she would be right back before going back over to Pepper and the two of them began to walk to Miss Hannigan's office.

"It smells awful in here," Annie whispered quietly once they'd walked in and Pepper nodded.

"I know. It smells like alcohol. It's gross." They turned the corner and Pepper was shocked to see Miss Hannigan was slowly waking up, her face beginning to regain the tiniest bit of colour.

"Miss Hannigan?" The ten year old asked shakily, clasping Annie's hand just as tightly as the redhead had hers. "Are...are you okay?"

Miss Hannigan opened her eyes weakly and took a minute to focus them before pointing her eyes towards Pepper. "P-Pepper?" She asked, her voice raspy and cracked. "What are you doing here?"

Pepper tried to smile now. "I'm...I'm checking on you, Miss Hannigan. Are you okay? What happened?"

Miss Hannigan attempted to sit up, but winced in pain as she did so and immediately clutched her head. "You girls should get out of here. Please. You don't want to see me like this. You shouldn't see me like this. It's...it's not good."

"Miss Hannigan, what happened last night?" Annie asked, a twinge if curiosity and worry both evident in her voice. "Are you alright?"

Weakly smiling and with tears springing to her eyes (the first time Annie or Pepper had ever seen an adult cry), Miss Hannigan responded, "Not really. Oh goddammit. Not at all. I'm not okay at all."

"What happened?" Pepper demanded gently.

"I really shouldn't be telling you girls this, but I'm going to. You deserve to know. You deserve to know who you're living with and how much of a complete screw up she is." Miss Hannigan shook her head now, silent for a couple moments before she finally explained what happened.

"Annie...Pepper...I tried to kill myself last night. I tried to overdose."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I am still not quite sure the direction this story is headed in, but I'm loving how it's turned out so far, so I'm just going to let the words take me away :) I'm sorry if the characters seem a bit OOC. but like I said, I like where this is going so I'm not going to try and keep exactly in character. Thanks for all the support so far! I love all the reviews!

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The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes, each not sure what to do or say next. Occasionally, Miss Hannigan glanced around for another bottle of alcohol, but remained sitting when she realised there was no more and knowing she was too weak to get up. Annie was gripping Pepper's hand tightly, trying not to let the tears lingering in her blue eyes fall out onto her cheeks. Annie had spent her entire life never showing anyone when she was sad or upset. It was an unspoken fact between all the orphans that she was the strong one. That wasn't to say she never cried or felt sad, but she was good at hiding it. From an early age, she'd known she was the only person who would have her back no matter what and she'd learned to be independnt from that.

Now, though, Annie couldn't help but want to cry for Miss Hannigan. Was the woman horrible to them? Yes, but that didn't equate to Miss Hannigan being unworthy of any empathy. She had feelings, too, and from the sounds of it, she was feelings things that Annie and Pepper were too young and inexperienced in the world to know about or deal with. She was feelings things no ten or eight year old should be exposed to.

On some level, they got it. They understood what it was like to live a dull life that seemed like it would never end. They understood what it was like to live in a cold, unwelcoming building and eat mush for three meals a day. But they didn't understood how deep Miss Hannigan's depression went. At least Annie and Pepper had the other girls in the orphanage to rely on and play with. Miss Hannigan had nobody, except for her younger brother who had been in and out of jail since he was fourteen, long before Annie or Pepper had been born. Miss Hannigan was alone. Each day, she got up alone and each night she went to bed alone. And in between, she spent her days drinking and yelling at thirty or so odd girls. There was no time for romance or friendship, and even if there was, Miss Hannigan wasn't exactly a people person. She got awkward around those she didn't know and more often than not, the few friends she managed to grab hold onto left her.

Annie didn't understand what it was like to be so hurt, to feel so broken, that death seemed like the only way out. She knew pain and suffering, but it hadn't ever gotten so completely unbearable. At least at the end of the day, she knew she had friends that loved and cared about her and the rest of her life to look forward to. Even if life got her down, she knew she could look forward to Molly snuggling with her when night fell or July telling her a funny joke. She could always come back.

And Miss Hannigan didn't have that. Miss Hannigan was alone, in every single sense of the word. She had her brother (who honestly only came around for money when he got out of jail), and she had alcohol. Alcohol, which she knew made her violent, angry, and a horrible person, but which she also knew took the edge off everything. Alcohol, which she knew would always be there, no matter what. Alcohol, which made life bearable, even if it was only for a little while.

Annie and Pepper were too young to know about any of this, but still they sat in the office with Miss Hannigan, simply because they knew she'd hit rock bottom. Sure, they didn't know the reason, but they knew she needed someone. Perhaps it wasn't the most ideal of situations to have a ten and eight year old with her, but it was better than nothing. It was better than listening to the still silence of an empty room. At least there was company.

"I guess maybe I should give an explanation," Miss Hannigan said quietly after about ten minutes of pure silence had passed. By now, Annie had finally given up her fight to stay strong and tears were slowly making tracks down her cheeks. Pepper, unsure of how to respond to this, simply rubbed Annie's hand in circles as she stared at Miss Hannigan sadly.

"I...I never thought that things would get this bad," Miss Hannigan said softly when neither girl responded. "Trust me. When I started drinking, it wasn't supposed to become a long term sort of thing." The woman hung her head guiltily. "And somehow, somehow it did. I should've known better. Both my parents were alcoholics just like me. They were violent and abusive. I should've known what drinking does to people."

She paused for a moment, waiting to see if Pepper or Annie would say anything. The girls just stared at Miss Hannigan, wide eyed. This was the closest thing to an explanation they'd ever gotten from her and they weren't about to jeopardize it by asking questions or making comments. Those could wait.

"I thought I was different. I thought I could handle it. And...well, you see where I ended up." Miss Hannigan shook her head, ready to give up and just tell the girls to get lost, but determined to explain everything. "I don't mean to be so mean, you guys. The alcohol...it changes everything. The way I think, the way I act, how I perceive things. I'm not saying it's not my fault, don't get me wrong. I'm the one who chooses to drink." She paused again, taking a moment to recollect her thoughts.

Pepper took this opportunity to speak up. "So what made you..." she gulped, "What made you want to kill yourself? Why?"

Miss Hannigan sighed and looked at the girl sadly. "I think everything's been building up inside of me for a good while now. It was bound to happen eventually, but I suppose I just got set off." She looked at Annie now. "After you left the office yesterday afternoon, I was so set on punishing that little girl, Molly. I felt like she deserved the worst punishment I could give her and I didn't care who protested. But then...I looked at her. I saw her little face. She was...she was terrified. She was terrified of me. And it just...it felt completely awful. I never wanted to be the villain. I never wanted anyone to be afraid of me. And I suppose it just set something off in me...I thought I'd hit the bottom. That there was no way back up from there. And that's...that's why."

Annie and Pepper glanced at one another now as Miss Hannigan brought her hands up towards her face and began to sob. The woman's explanation made Annie's heart completely and totally crumble and it just went to show both her and Pepper just how much things had changed with Molly's arrival to the orphanage.

Before the little girl had come, it was an unheard of thing for Miss Hannigan to take pity on any of the orphans. Now, not only had she taken pity on Molly, she also spared her from a punishment. She felt remorse for her actions. It was, perhaps, the most humane thing Annie had ever heard come out of Miss Hannigan's mouth and now all the redhead wanted to do was hug the woman. She knew it wouldn't solve all of her problems, but it was likely to help. Sometimes, physical contact with a human went a long way, which had been another thing Molly taught Annie. There had been one or two nights where the little girl had woken up from a particularly horrible nightmare and the only thing that brought her any semblance of comfort was a simple hug. Of course, Annie knew Miss Hannigan wasn't Molly. Miss Hannigan had problems that went far beyond a bad dream, but maybe right now, she really did only need a hug.

Annie was unable to muster up the courage, though, so she replied, in a barely audible voice, "I'm sorry."

Miss Hannigan weakly smiled. "Please...don't apologise. It was in no way your fault. Hell, you shouldn't even know half of this. What the hell kind of caretaker am I? I'm so goddamned stupid. You're both just kids."

Glancing at Annie, Pepper grinned the slightest bit before taking Miss Hannigan by the hand. "You need help, Miss Hannigan, and maybe we are just kids, but it's better than being alone. You're allowed to be sad. You're allowed to have feelings. Life ain't that great in this dump, but the least we can do is stick together. We're probably the only family we're ever gonna get."

Miss Hannigan was unable to response for this, for this was the warmest sympathy she'd gotten in ages. Her throat constricted and for a moment, she looked as if she was about to cry more, until Annie finally mustered up the courage and wrapped her arms tight around Miss Hannigan's neck. Miss Hannigan was taken completely aback by this, but she awkwardly hugged Annie back, not sure what else to do or say. Annie hung on tight for a couple minutes, instantly knowing that a hug truly was something Miss Hannigan needed.

"What...what can I do?" The redhead asked once the embrace had broken, wanting desperately to fix Miss Hannigan's problems. She wasn't one to see people suffer. When she knew someone was in pain, no matter how large the problem was, she wanted to solve it. That was just the kind of person Annie was. She was good at being empathetic.

Miss Hannigan sighed now, smiling the most genuine smile to grace her lips in what seemed like forever. "Honestly, kid, I don't think there's much you can do. Don't worry about me, alright? I'll be fine. I was just weak last night. It happens. I'll be fine,"

Pepper and Annie exchanged another glance at this, both knowing that Miss Hannigan was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince the two of them. Neither girl wanted to leave Miss Hannigan. Even though they had never gotten along with her very well before, that didn't mean they wanted to leave her at her weakest point. Miss Hannigan was only human. She needed someone. Even if that someone was a little girl who had absolutely no idea how to deal with any of this.

"Should we start cleaning?" Pepper asked awkwardly. If she was bad at comforting little kids, she was downright awful at comforting adults. As it was, she wasn't much of a people person.

Miss Hannigan thought for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "You girls can take a break for today," she said quietly, "No cleaning. No sewing. Just...just be kids for once. Play. Draw. I don't know what it is that kids do, but do it."

Again, Annie and Pepper were completely shocked. Was this the same Miss Hannigan that despised any semblance of happiness, displayed by anyone? Was she actually telling them to enjoy themselves? Sober Miss Hannigan was definitely very different from drunk Miss Hannigan and now Pepper smiled sadly when she realized the only true reason they were encountering sober Miss Hannigan was because she had too much alcohol in her system to safety drink. This was a side of Miss Hannigan she, Annie, and the other girls night never see again. They had to seize the moment while it lasted.

"Go on. Go play," Miss Hannigan said, her voice softening. Annie looked to Pepper for guidance and the older girl slightly nodded.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" The girl asked as Annie slowly walked towards the doorway. Again, Miss Hannigan was taken aback again by this and she quickly shook her head.

"No...no, I don't think that's a good idea right now. You deserve a break, too. I'll be fine. I think I just need some time alone right now, to be completely honest."

"A-alright," Pepper replied uneasily, rising from the bed. "We're here if you need it." She joined Annie at the doorway and the two girls waited a moment for Miss Hannigan to respond, but eventually left when she said nothing.

"D'you think she'll be alright?" Annie asked quietly once the two of them were out in the hallway, her voice teeming with concern. She looked up to Pepper, her ice blue eyes wide.

Pepper let out an uneasy sigh, before she nodded slightly, knowing that she couldn't break down just yet. The majority of the time Annie was the strong one, but now she was the one who needed reassurance. Right now, Annie was a vulnerable little girl who was terrified that the demons inside of Miss Hannigan would lead her to death. Pepper herself didn't know how to handle it, but she couldn't imagine what Annie was going through. She was only eight.

"Yeah, I do," the older girl replied after a couple of moments, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "She'll be fine, Annie. I mean, she did say she had a weak moment. Maybe she just needed to break down."

"Do you think we made it worse?"

Pepper sighed. "I...I don't know, Annie. She seemed...she seemed almost relieved we were there. I think we probably helped more than we hurt."

Annie reached for Pepper's hand and grabbed it tightly. "I'm afraid." She said in a meek voice that was so unlike Annie it made Pepper's heart hurt.

The older girl looked down and seeing the raw fear in the redhead's eyes, she then pulled her in for a tight hug. "I am too," she admitted, "but we've been through a lot worse together, right? Maybe we're a little young, but that doesn't mean we can't help. We can't let something like little stop us."

Annie looked up and smiled at Pepper. "Thanks..." She replied, her voice sounding a little more relieved.

Pepper smiled back and broke the embrace. "Come on, we should get back to the others."

Annie nodded and began walking towards the sewing room. When the two girls arrived, they immediately took notice of the heavy silence that had blanketed the room, the only noises being the gentle whirring of sewing machines. Somehow, the girls knew there was something amiss, though Pepper and Annie hadn't offered any sort of explanation.

"Annie!"

No more than five seconds had passed before Molly came running up to her friend with a wide smile on her face, instantly wrapping her tiny arms around Annie's waist.

"Hey, kiddo," Annie said, returning the grin as her somber mood immediately lessened in Molly's presence.

"Annie, I'm really hungry. Where's Miss Hannigan?" The little girl pulled away from Annie now, confusion appearing on her small features.

Annie hesitated for a moment, knowing that Molly was way too young to know anything about what Miss Hannigan was going through. "She's...a little sick, baby. I really don't think she'll be coming out of her room at all today."

Molly frowned. "But I'm hungry!"

Annie suppressed a giggle and ruffled Molly's tangled hair. "We can fix that, baby. Come on, why don't we go check the pantry for something?"

The frown immediately left Molly's face and she grabbed Annie's hand tightly, very nearly dragging her out of the room. Pepper smiled at the two of them and awkwardly leaned against the doorframe, watching her friends feverishly work on their dresses as she thought about Miss Hannigan.

For as long as Pepper could remember, she'd never been able to show much empathy, for anyone. That didn't exactly mean she didn't care about others and their feelings, but she was just naturally wired to shove everything under the rug. Even as a little kid, she never liked to cry when other people were around. That was part of the reason why she was so nasty to little Molly at times. She wasn't used to being around little kids, and even when she was, they weren't as open with their feelings as Molly was. Molly was willing to talk to anyone about her feelings, but even Annie as a little kid hated to cry around others. Pepper just didn't know how to deal with seeing others in pain. In all honesty, it reminded her of her mother, who had taken her own life after learning about her father's affair with another woman. Pepper had only been three at the time, but she remembered well when her father would bring home a woman in a skin tight dress and then proceed to seduce her.

Now, learning about Miss Hannigan's attempted suicide, it just brought back so many feelings with her mother's death that she'd pushed down deep inside of her. It was like ripping off a bandaid. She missed her mother so much and it angered her that her own father had taken away her chance of a normal childhood. For whatever reason, he hadn't been happy in his marriage and so he ruined it by cheating on his wife. Pepper had no idea where her father was anymore, she had been taken away by child protective services seven months after her mother's death. She knew nothing. She couldn't even remember her own last name. All she knew was that she had a father who had multiple affairs, caused her mother to take her own life, and then proceeded to become addicted to drugs in response. Her life had been far from happy.

She wasn't good at having empathy for others, especially when those other people had been through far less than she had. She knew that was a horrible justification, but as far as she could tell, Molly had had four years in a perfect family with a mother and a father who loved her more than they could ever express. She would never admit it, but a small part of her was jealous. She was jealous because Molly had had more of a chance at life than she ever would. She was jealous because Molly was small, cute, and she had Annie wrapped around her finger. Molly had someone to look out for her. Pepper was alone.

This jealousy didn't stop Pepper from desperately wanting a better relationship with her roommates, though. More than anything, she wanted to be friends with them. She wanted Molly to feel comfortable coming to her when she was upset and she wanted to be able to just have casual chats with Annie or Kate or Duffy about anything. She wanted to try.

And now, looking into the sewing room filled with malnourished and overall miserable little girls, Pepper vowed to try. She had nothing to lose and everything to gain. She wanted to start over.

...

As it turned out, the day of relaxation was exactly what the orphans needed. They needed a release from all the work they'd done for years and years on end. For once, they were able to laugh, talk, and play without worrying about being reprimanded. It felt nice, to day the least.

Pepper and Annie weren't able to give their full attention to relaxing, though, since both girls were concerned beyond belief about Miss Hannigan. The woman hadn't come out of her room all day and Pepper had checked in on her a couple of times, only to find her in a deep sleep both times. This only added to her worry, not to mention the fact that the second time Pepper had come in, a half empty bottle of gin was on her bedside table. She'd nearly died and yet she still wouldn't give up the alcohol. She'd gotten incredibly lucky this time. How long before it would happen again? How long before the alcohol would not only claim her sobriety, but her life?

Even though the day was stressful emotionally, Annie was glad Miss Hannigan had told them not to work for the day. It was nice and her favourite part of the whole day was seeing Molly genuinely happy. For the first time ever, Annie had actually heard a real laugh from Molly. She'd seen a genuine smile. She'd witnessed Molly be the four year old she was for the first time ever. She didn't have to worry about being yelled at for laughing too hard or talking too loud. There was no edge. Not only that, but the older girls were being nice to Molly, too. Normally she just came across as a nuisance, but today Pepper, Duffy, and Kate had engaged her in whatever games they thought of. There was even a point in the day where Pepper had gotten into a tickle fight with Molly. Annie didn't think she'd ever been happier than in that moment. Even Pepper was having a good time.

This was why Annie almost didn't want to have to tuck Molly in for bed when night came upon the orphanage. When the little girl started to get cranky because she was so tired, though, Annie knew she needed to take her upstairs. Molly had lasted a long time, though, until nearly nine thirty when normally she went to bed around seven. It had been a good day, but Molly was tired out.

"Alright, Molly, I think we should go upstairs," Annie said gently, placing her hand on Molly's shoulder. The little girl looked up, startled to be interrupted from her game of Jacks.

"Why?!" Molly whined softly, shaking her head. Annie smiled and knelt down beside her, knowing her friend was more than ready for bed.

"You've got to get to sleep, baby. It's late."

Molly shook her head again. "I don't wanna, Annie! I wanna stay here and play Jacks with Pepper and Duffy!"

"Molly, you need to go to bed," Annie said, stroking Molly's bangs away from her forehead. "You can play Jacks with Pepper and Duffy tomorrow, right?"

"No! I wanna play now!" Molly pouted and crossed her arms. Annie sighed softly and glanced at Pepper, a look of desperation in her eyes.

The older girl smiled. "Hey, Molly, we can play tomorrow. I promise."

"I want to play _now_!"

"Molly, you have to go to bed," Annie said, a hint of exasperation in her voice. "Come on, baby. I'll even tell you a story if you want."

Molly shook her head again, angry tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"Molly, don't cry," Pepper said gently, moving closer to the little girl and wrapping her arm around her. "What if I come upstairs with you and Annie and help her tuck you in? Would you like that?"

Molly considered this for a moment. "Will you really do that?" She asked and Pepper smiled, squeezing Molly gently.

"Of course I will. Come on," Pepper stood up and held her hand out for Molly to take. The little girl stood up now and said goodnight to the rest of her friends before going up to the dormitory. Once there, Annie helped Molly change into her pajamas and then laid her down on her cot, gently stroking her hair.

"Go to sleep, baby. I know you're tired," the redhead said in a calming voice as she smiled down at Molly. The younger girl looked up to her friend and weakly smiled, hugging her toy pony close to her.

"Annie, don't leave me. I don't like being alone," she requested tiredly. Annie smiled and nodded.

"I won't leave, baby. You have my promise." Annie gave a warm hand and took Molly by the hand, beginning to rub it in small circles.

Molly smiled even wider and now she held her arms out for Annie, getting more and more clingy the sleepier she got. The redhead immediately took her into her arms and kissed her forehead, rocking her gently.

"Go to sleep, baby. I'm right here, alright? Annie's right her. Annie won't leave you."

"I love you, Annie," Molly mumbled softly as her eyes finally closed, feeling safe in Annie's embrace.

Once the little girl had drifted off, Annie looked up to Pepper, an amused grin on her face.

"How do you do that?" Pepper asked, wonderment in her voice, "How do you get her to fall asleep so quickly?"

Annie suppressed a giggle. "Practice, I guess," she replied. "She normally goes to sleep much easier than she did tonight, but she was over tired."

"She really loves you, Annie," Pepper smiled down at the little girl, stroking her hair softly.

Annie smiled even wider. "And I really love her. I'd do anything for her. I'm just glad she was able to have a good day today. It was good to see it."

"Do you think she could ever trust me as much as she trusts you? I'm trying, but I don't know if it's ever going to be enough."

"Oh, Pepper," Annie said softly, looking up to her. "I think she already trusts you. I know that she annoys you sometimes, but I just think you need to try like you've been the last few days. You're going to get there. Molly doesn't have the same kind of baggage we have, Pepper. She doesn't have trust issues. She's a little kid. She'll warm up to you if you give her a chance."

Pepper sighed. "God, I hope so."


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I am so sorry this chapter has taken so long to be posted. I have been dealing with a lot of personal issues lately and writing just hasn't been at the top of my list of priorities. The good news, though, is that I finally know how this story is going to end and I can't wait for you all to read it.

Just a warning for this chapter: the ending scene is the tiniest bit graphic. I tried to write it as light as I could, but there's not exactly an easy way to write this kind of subject, so I apologize if it's too graphic for some. This is a central point to the story. I'd say there about three more chapters left

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Chapter 5

"Annie! Annie! **_Annie_**!"

Molly shot straight up on her cot, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the dormitory as frightened tears rolled down her cheeks. Unsurprisingly, and a little disappointingly, she'd had another nightmare. For the past two nights, she had been able to sleep so peacefully, without a single dark or frightening figure coming into any of her dreams, but there had been no such luck tonight and now the little girl shivered, the dream playing back in her mind. Her nightmare had been terrifying, perhaps the worst one she'd ever had.

And now she sat in the still darkness of the dormitory, crying softly and waiting for Annie to come and take away all of the fear. For a good five or so minutes, Molly simply sat on her bed, cuddling her toy pony and trying to keeping the volume of her tears at a minimum since she knew none of the other girls enjoyed any disruptions of their sleep. She didn't enjoy it, either.

"A-Annie?" The little girl whispered after what seemed like forever had passed, the nightmare still very apparent in the forefront of her mind. When she got no response, Molly looked up to the window ledge where her friend so often sat when she couldn't sleep only to be more confused when the redhead wasn't up there, watching the cars go up and down the street. Where was Annie?

Now, the little girl shakily rose from her cot and began to search for her older friend, still trying to keep her crying as quiet as possible. She searched for ten or so minutes, looking in every room she could think of, only to come up empty. Where in the world had Annie gone?

With the results of her search being nothing but disappointing, Molly went back to the dormitory and climbed up to the window ledge, clutching her pony and letting herself sob louder. Usually when she would cry out from a bad dream, Annie was by her side within seconds and now she was nowhere to be found. The only thing the four year old could think of was that her friend had run away, which was something she absolutely hated thinking about.

Of course, she wanted Annie to be as happy as possible, but the redhead was also the only person Molly trusted in the entire world. Annie had taken care of her for nearly five weeks, day in and day out and she'd never done her wrong, unlike her roommates had. She knew Duffy, Kate, Tessie, July, and Pepper had the best intentions, but Molly simply feel comfortable at the orphanage without Annie around to help fight her battles. She just couldn't help but worry, even though Annie had promised multiple times if she ever found her parents, she'd have them adopt Molly, too. Without Annie, Molly was, more or less, alone.

As the little girl thought more and more about being left alone at the orphanage, her sobs only rose in volume, which quickly woke Pepper up. For a moment, the moody girl was annoyed at the interruption of her sleep, but the annoyance was quickly replaced with concern when Annie's calming voice didn't accompany the sobs. Pepper sat up, yawning before she directed her eyes to the upset four year old on the window ledge.

Hesitating for a moment, Pepper slowly got up and began to climb up to the ledge, gently pulling Molly onto her lap and kissing the top of her head.

"Hey, kiddo, you want to tell me what's the matter?"

Molly simply wrapped her arms around Pepper's neck, crying harder for a few minutes as the older girl hugged her tightly.

"Hey, Molly, it's alright. I'm right here, okay? You're not alone anymore, Molly. I'm right here. Don't cry. Did you have a bad dream?"

Molly quickly nodded, and sniffled loudly before replying "I had a really scary dream, Pepper and I woke up and I called for Annie, but she never came. I called for her and I looked for her, but I can't find her, Pepper! I dunno where she is!"

Pepper could see the concern clear in Molly's tear filled brown eyes and she brushed her bangs away from her forehead before softly kissing it. "Hey, Molly, don't you worry. I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

"But, Pepper...what if she ran away again?" Molly's voice shook a little and Pepper tried to smile comfortingly.

"When it's this cold outside and in the middle of the night, Molly? I don't think so. She may do some stupid things, but she ain't that stupid. She's around here somewhere. Im sure of it."

Molly sniffled again. "I want Annie! She makes everything better! She gives me warm hugs and she makes me laugh and she cuddles me and I want her!"

Pepper's heart tugged and she pulled the little girl in closer, kissing her forehead again. "I'm sure you do, Molly, and I promise you I'll go look for her soon. But in the meantime, do you wanna tell me about your dream? I know I'm never gonna be as good as Annie, but maybe I can help."

Molly sniffled once more and gave no response other than snuggling deeper into Pepper's embrace. The older girl sighed softly and carefully shifted Molly into one arm before she climbed down from the window ledge and walked back to her cot. Once there, she wrapped Molly in a tight embrace again and ever so gently began to rock the little girl back and forth until her tears subsided.

"What was your dream about, sweetie?" Pepper asked when Molly's sobs had turned into sniffles, smiling a warm and gentle smile. "You can tell me. It's alright."

Molly shivered. "Annie...she ran away again...only this time, she found her mommy and daddy and she went to live with them...but she never ever came back for me. And then everyone else got adopted but me and Miss Hannigan was being really, really mean to me and yelling at me all the time and I was an orphan forever and ever."

Molly's tears began again and Pepper pulled her in close, whispering soothing words until it faded into silence.

"I'll let you in a little secret, kiddo," The older girl replied softly and a ,Kim of intrigue crossed Molly's face.

"Y-yeah?" She asked, her voice a bit shaky.

"I don't think Annie's gonna ever find her parents, sweetie. They've been missing for over eight years. Either they ain't alive anymore or they forgot about her. If they really wanted her that badly, they'd have come for her already."

Molly gasped and looked the slightest but horrified. "Annie has the note, though! And they promised in the note they'd come back! And a promise is a promise!"

Pepper smiled sadly, wishing that Molly's simple little kid logic really worked. "I hope that you're right, Molly, but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. I think they'd have come for her by now."

"But...they have to be alive!"

Pepper ruffled her hair. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Now, how about we get you back to sleep? It's late."

"What about Annie?" Molly inquired, yawning softly as her eyes began to droop the slightest bit.

"I'll go and find her for you, alright? I'll make sure she wakes you when we come back here, alright? I'm sure she's around here. Let me worry about her. You just go to sleep for now."

Even though what she wanted more than anything was for Annie to come and make her feel better, Molly was simply too tired to argue and she nodded, laying down on Pepper's cot and closing her eyes. Pepper smiled and leaned down to kiss the little girl on the forehead before leaving the dormitory and beginning her search for Annie.

First, she looked in on the other dormitories, wondering if one of the other girls was upset or sick, but unfortunately, this suspicion was quickly proved wrong.

Pepper searched both floors of the dormitory and looked in every single room, but had no luck in finding Annie. This was when she truly began to panic. Maybe Molly hadn't been too far off. Perhaps Annie really had run away. Sure, it was a bitter winter and the middle of the night, but she'd done stupider before.

With a heavy heart, Pepper was just about to give up on her search when she noticed the door to the roof of the orphanage was slightly cracked open. At first, she chalked it up to the harsh winds of New York, but after thinking about it a moment more, she decided to investigate. To her great surprise, Annie was up there, sitting on the edge of the roof and shivering.

"Annie! What the hell are you doing?!" Pepper whispered and Annie looked up, startled before beginning to watch the street again.

Pepper sighed softly to herself and shakily sat beside the redhead, wondering what on earth to say. The two girls sat in silence for what seemed like a record amount of time before Annie broke down in sobs.

"Annie...?" Pepper asked, in disbelief, "What's wrong?"

Annie sniffled and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her sweater. "Miss Hannigan. You know what she did to herself, Pepper, and it just scares me so much. She's the only one we have to make sure we don't die, but if she can't make sure she doesn't die herself, who do we have? I mean, sure, I run away all the time, but that's because I know I can always come back here. I can make it out there for a couple days, a week at most, but after awhile, it gets hard to find places you haven't already begged for food from.

"Not that Miss Hannigan ever would let me stay away for that long, of course. I'm just scared. What if she tries to kill herself again? Who knows who we'll get to replace her? Miss Hannigan isn't exactly the greatest person ever, but at least she feeds us, gives us clothes to wear, and beds to sleep. A lot of orphanages don't have that."

Pepper was speechless for a couple minutes, only realising now that she had the same exact fears as Annie. The redhead was only eight years old, but she was wise beyond her years. She knew exactly how delicate this predicament was. If they reported Miss Hannigan's suicide attempt to authorities, she'd definitely be replaced, deemed as a danger to herself. And if they didn't, then Miss Hannigan might just try it again and she'd be replaced anyways. Which was the lesser of two evils?

"Annie...don't worry. You heard her say that she just needed a breakdown, didn't you? She had her moment of weakness. Now she's gonna be strong."

'You don't really believe that, do you? Pepper, she tried to _die_. And what's worse is that she didn't succeed. I don't think that's going to make her any happier than she was before all of this began. She's hurting, Pepper, and the only people she has to talk to are little girls. It's gotta be rough."

Pepper sighed, knowing all of this was true and then some. "I know...but what can we do about it? Miss Hannigan's never liked to talk about anything, so it's not like we can just go to her room and let her talk through everything. And we can't tell anyone about it because then she'll be sent away."

Annie looked down. "I know...I'm used to being able to fix everything, Pepper. When Miss Hannigan's mean to anyone, I stand up to her for them and if somebody's upset, I'll do anything I can to make them feel happy again, but this time I can't do that. I can't just tell Miss Hannigan that it's going to be okay, because I honestly don't know. I really don't and that scares me. Our future is in the hands of an alcoholic who tried to drink so much that she would die. What are we supposed to do?"

"Annie, look at me." Pepper said sternly.

Annie's head immediately popped up, a questioning look on her face.

"You're overthinking all of this. Miss Hannigan is going to be fine, alright? I'll talk to her in the morning and I'll make sure she's alright. I promise. You can't start jumping to conclusions like this. Come on, let's go inside. It's cold, late, and I know a four year old who'd really like to see you."

Pepper got up and held her hand out for Annie to rake, a gentle smile on her face. The younger girl hesitated for a moment before grabbing Pepper's hand and letting herself be pulled up. The girls climbed down from the roof and went back to their dormitory, where Pepper instantly led Annie to her cot where Molly was fast asleep. Annie smiled at her little friend and sat beside her, softly whispering as she pulled Molly's head onto her lap. Slowly, Molly's brown eyes fluttered open.

"Annie!" Molly whispered, a wide smile spreading into her face.

"Hey, baby," Annie replied, returning Molly's grin. "Pepper told me that you had a bad dream about me finding my parents and never coming back for you?"

The four year old nodded ashamedly, her eyes becoming downcast. "And then...I woke up and I couldn't find you anywhere, Annie and I thought you ran away again!" Now, tears brimmed in Molly's eyes and Annie quickly pulled her in tighter before she got too upset.

"Hey, baby, I'm right here. I didn't run away, alright? I'm right here. Don't you worry. I was just on the roof, thinking. I promise that I'm never going to run away without telling you first. I promise."

Molly smiled s little bit and Annie tightened her embrace on Molly. "And as far as your nightmare goes, Molly, you're already my little sister. I love you with my entire heart and when I find my mom and my dad, I will make sure that they adopt you, too. I'd never leave you behind. I'm never going to leave you."

Molly hiccuped. "Promise?"

Annie smiled and nodded. "Promise."

Molly sat up a bit and leaned her head on Annie's shoulder, slowly becoming sleepy again. Annie hummed softly as she got up from Pepper's cot and going towards Molly. There, she sat on the bed and shifted Molly so her head was on her lap again and her small body was outstretched on the bed, s thin blanket covering the both of them.

"Go to sleep, Molly. I love you." Annie whispered, running her fingers absentmindedly through Molly's tattered hair.

"I love you, too, Annie," the tired little girl mumbled, quickly drifting off.

Once the dormitory was completely silent, Annie looked outside and decided to make a wish on a star. _Please let Miss Hannigan_ be okay, she wished, and _please let me find Molly parents soon. She deserves to have someone love her._

...

For the third morning in a row, the girls were able to wake up on their own time instead of being woken up by a shrill whistle and an angry yell. Even though Duffy, Kate, Tessie, July, and Molly found only good in this, Annie and Pepper were more concerned about Miss Hannigan than they'd ever been about anyone. Neither girl had spoken to her since the previous morning and Pepper simply couldn't get the image of her passed out with an empty gin bottle beside her out of her head.

For so much of her life, Pepper had practiced pushing down any and all emotions that threatened to appear, but for the past three days, she'd been having a hard time keeping up her tough act. She didn't know what exactly it was that was changing her, but she strongly suspected it had something to do with Molly running away and her heart to hearts with not only Molly, but Annie and Miss Hannigan, as well.

She wouldn't go as far to say she loved Miss Hannigan, but she did sincerely care for her and to know she was hurting so much she wanted to end her own life, was almost too much for Pepper. Perhaps it was because her own mother had done the exact same thing, but Pepper didn't think this was necessarily the case. She and Annie were known at the orphanage as the strong ones, the girls who weren't afraid to fight for what they believed in and definitely not the girls who cried at the drop of a hat. Annie wasn't afraid, exactly, to show what she was feeling, but she did her best to avoid being visibly upset if it was possible.

Pepper was downright terrified of showing anyone when she was scared or upset, so the other girls simply assumed her emotions never bothered her much. That statement, though, was the furthest thing from the truth.

Pepper placed a lot of blame for that on her father. Even though life was awful at best living in the orphanage, her own home hadn't been exactly that easy, either. Her mother did everything she could to make Pepper's childhood as normal as possible, but it wasn't an easy feat given their lack of money and the shabby apartment they resided in. Pepper could count on one hand the amount of toys she'd had as a baby and a toddler. She wasn't neglected, but she wasn't happy. Her mother did her best, though, and Pepper couldn't place the blame on her at all.

Her father, on the other hand, was a much different story. In the first three years of her life, even though the memories were murky, her father either wasn't home or he was seducing a woman on their couch or he was yelling at Pepper for something she was too young to understand that she'd done wrong. Each night and each morning, he gave her a hug and a kiss and said that he loved her, but actions spoke louder than words. She'd spent so many years of her life wondering that if he really loved her, why would he cheat so much that it drove her mother to suicide? If he really loved her and he knew that cheating only brought pain, why would he continue to do it daily? She knew her father was smart; he had a P.H.D in psychology, after all. Why didn't he understand the ramifications of his actions?

She'd come to the realisation a couple months ago that the answer was simple: he'd never really loved Pepper in the first place. She was just some kid he got stuck with. She was the product of wedlock. At first, the realisation stung quite a bit, but now Pepper had just accepted the facts. In more ways than one, Pepper was unwanted. It had been that way since her birth, and there was nothing she could do to change it, or could've done to change it.

Pepper wanted a chance of life so much that it physically hurt her. She wanted a way out of the orphanage. She wanted to live life the way she intended to. She had dreams. She was still young, and she wanted a way out. She wanted that for not only her, but all the other girls at the orphanage. She'd never admit it, but they were like her sisters. She cared about each and every one of them and as the days passed, she was finding it easier and easier to let them open up to her. Comforting Molly after her nightmare the previous night had felt almost good. She felt needed. She'd done something good, and she wanted to keep it up. She wanted to gain Molly's trust to the point where the little girl would come to her willingly if Annie wasn't available when she was upset.

She had no idea how in the world she was going to do it. She had no idea how she was going to reverse the damage she'd done in the past month, but she didn't care. If she was anything, Pepper was determined and she'd make sure Molly knew that she was loved by not only Annie, but by her, as well.

Now, she was realising something even scarier than learning about Miss Hannigan's suicide attempt. She loved Molly with her entire heart. She had no idea how the little girl had worked her way into her heart, but somehow she had. Molly was her little sister. She wanted to protect her from any harm.

...

All seven girls in the dormitory were up by nine thirty and everyone except for Annie and Pepper immediately started to chat about how nice it was not having Miss Hannigan breathing down their necks again. Annie was trying her best to keep up her usual lighthearted spirit, not wanting anyone else catching on about what was going on with Miss Hannigan. While she didn't exactly expect anything bad from the other girls knowing, she simply didn't see the benefit of them knowing instead of being kept in the dark about the whole situation. Everything was dramatic enough as it was without the entire orphanage knowing that Miss Hannigan had tried to end her own life and Annie was fairly sure she wouldn't appreciate what could be perhaps the most delicate detail of her life at the moment.

The girls began to get hungry after awhile and they started to wonder if Miss Hannigan would wake up to make them mush, which then led to Duffy and Kate asking about what exactly was going on with Miss Hannigan and why she hadn't left her room in over s day.

"Annie said yesterday that she was sick!" Molly said excitedly, a smile on her face, as if she was proud to know about what was ailing Miss Hannigan.

Duffy turned to Annie now, her eyebrow raised and a questioning glance in her face. "Really? Miss Hannigan's sick?"

Annie quickly exchanged glances with Pepper before replying, in a shaky voice, "Well, I kinda went to...check on her early yesterday morning cause I heard something coming from her room...and she seemed pretty sick. I think she said it was the flu."

"More like a hangover," Kate muttered under her breath before looking back at Annie. "What are we supposed to eat, then? It's not exactly like she keeps the pantry full for us. I'm sure there's nothing in there."

"Maybe we should just go wake her up," Duffy replied, beginning to move towards Miss Hannigan's room. A look of panic crossed Pepper's face at this and she abruptly placed herself in front of Duffy's path.

"Aw, c'mon, Duffy. Let her rest. Yeah, sure she ain't exactly the greatest person alive, but that don't mean she shouldn't be able to take a break now and then."

Duffy simply started at Pepper for a moment, in pure shock. Pepper...the grumpiest of them all...was defending Miss Hannigan? What was going on?

"But I'm hungry!" Molly replied now and Annie quickly took her little friend by the hand, shushing her.

"I think we should leave her alone, you guys. Let her rest. I'm sure there's something in the pantry we can eat."

A simultaneous sigh filled the room before mutterings of agreement replaced it. Even though they wanted some substantial food, the girls didn't want to risk facing either Miss Hannigan's or Annie's wrath and they followed the redhead to the pantry.

Already knowing there wouldn't be any food in the pantry from her visit the day before with Molly, Annie sighed and slowly opened the pantry, holding onto a small shred of hope that there would be something they could eat. The girls groaned when the stock of the pantry was revealed. A simple loaf of bread was all that was left, with only three pieces in it.

"Maybe we can tear the bread up," Annie suggested optimistically and the other girls stared at her for a moment, debating whether that was a genius idea or just something she was saying to keep them from getting more irritated.

The girls exchanged glances once more before Duffy said, with a disappointed voice, "Let Molly have the bread, guys. We can go another day without food, I'm sure. Maybe we'll find something else later."

None of the girls protested this statement and Annie smiled sadly before removing the three pieces of bread from the bag, placing them on a plate and handing it to Molly. The little girl ate it quickly, seemingly starving before handing the plate back to Annie.

Duffy sighed.

"I guess we can play Jacks again..." She said, the same disappointed tone as before in her voice. "Come on," she started heading back to the dormitory and the other girls trailed behind.

Annie started to walk, but Molly tugged at her sleeve and the redhead turned to her little friend, smiling before kneeling down in front of her.

"What's up, sweetie?" She asked gently.

"I gotta go potty," Molly whispered and Annie smiled even wider, ruffling her hair a bit.

"Alright, well, I'll meet you in the dormitory, okay?" She replied, standing back up. Molly quickly nodded and a smile crossed her face before she skipped off to the bathroom. Annie giggled and headed back to their room, where Duffy, Kate, and July were engaged in another game of Jacks already. Annie sat on her cot and watched them, deciding to play referee today since a couple small fights had broken out the day before over the rules.

For a moment, peace blanketed the orphanage as the girls chatted and giggled, until before a blood curdling scream was heard from down the hall, where Miss Hannigan's room was. Annie's mind immediately went to Molly and she ran immediately out of the dormitory to Miss Hannigan's room, only to find her small friend inside the room with a terrified expression on her face and screaming loudly.

Almost afraid to see what the matter was, Annie held her breath and stepped in to find Miss Hannigan laying unconscious on her bed, much like the day before, with empty bottles of gin all around her and a knife on her bedside table, large gashes in her right arm that were bleeding profusely. Annie quickly picked Molly up and took her back out into the hallway as the other girls came running down the hallway to see what was going on. Pepper looked horrified and she ran straight in, beginning to try and wake Miss Hannigan.

Annie desperately wanted to go in and help take care of Miss Hannigan, but she had a terrified four year old in her arms, who was sobbing loudly and had just witnessed one of the worst things imaginable: someone who was hurt so much that they had decided to take the pain out on theirselves.


	6. Chapter 6

Annie's mind seemed to have been fogged and blurred for the next few minutes as she thought of the next best course of action. The thing she wanted to do more than anything was go and make sure Miss Hannigan was alright, but she knew that she needed to give Molly an explanation to what she'd just witnessed. Molly may have been only four, but one thing was for sure - she wasn't stupid. Annie knew well that she couldn't simply brush this off as Miss Hannigan accidentally cutting herself with a knife. It was apparent to anyone, even Molly, that these cuts were intentional. And even if they weren't, Annie didn't want to lie to Molly.

The tricky part about the whole thing, though, was that suicide and depression was a tough subject to bring up to even adults, but to a four year old who'd just lost her parents? How on earth did you even begin to explain something like this? Even to Annie, learning about Miss Hannigan's alcoholism, her depression, her subsequent suicide attempt and now what Annie assumed was a second attempt, was a lot. She'd never even thought about this kind of thing before and now here she was in the midst of this whole nightmare. What in the world was she to say to Molly?

Brushing it under the rug was not an option. Molly was incredibly clever for someone so little and if Annie didn't tell her the full truth, the redhead knew her small friend would go to one of the other girls until she knew the story.

Sighing, Annie looked down to her little friend, who was still crying hysterically, and stood up with her in her arms, heading back to the dormitory. There, she set Molly down onto her cot and sat beside her, soothingly stroking her hair until her tears had nearly vanished.

"Annie..." Molly began in a weak voice, "why was Miss Hannigan so hurt? What happened to her? Did someone hurt her?"

Annie paused for a moment at this. Poor Molly; the idea that Miss Hannigan's cuts were self inflicted never crossed her little mind and Annie definitely didn't want to be the one to put it into her head. She'd known since she was six that sometimes, when people were really sad or upset about something, they cut themselves to relieve that pain, but she'd never actually seen them. Now she had and her heart nearly broke in two for Miss Hannigan. She didn't want to be the one to put such an intense subject into little Molly's mind, though she knew she had to. Molly needed to know what was going on in the place she lived, whether the details were pretty or not. She had a right.

She lived in the orphanage just as much as Annie or Pepper did.

Annie sighed once more before brushing Molly's hair away from her forehead and gently kissing it as she replied, "Molly, sweetheart, I need you to understand something that may be a little confusing. Nobody hurt Miss Hannigan, baby. Those cuts you saw-she did them."

Molly's face scrunched up in horror. "But why, Annie? Why did Miss Hannigan do that? It looks like they really hurt!"

Annie smiled sadly as she nodded. "I'm sure that they do, sweetheart. I think that's part of the reason why Miss Hannigan did it in the first place."

A look of confusion replaced the one of horror. "_Why, _though? Being hurt isn't fun! Miss Hannigan doesn't _want _to be hurt, does she?"

Annie's slight smile faded now and she wrapped her arm around Molly tighter. "She's had a very hard life, baby, and because of it...she's really sad. It's a kind of sadness that doesn't really go away just because someone hugs or kisses or cuddles you, alright? It's a kind of sadness that can stay for a couple days, a couple months, or even a couple years...and Miss Hannigan is just...she's feeling very hopeless right now. So...in a few ways, yeah, I think that being hurt is exactly what Miss Hannigan wants right now."

"Oh."

A heavy silence simmered in the air as Molly thought this over for a few minutes and Annie watched her facial expressions carefully, worried that somehow she'd made Molly even more upset than she already was. Finally, Molly just gave a simple nod and Annie pulled her in for another hug.

"Is Miss Hannigan gonna be alright?" Molly asked quietly once their embrace had broken and Annie paused again. She wanted so very much to be able to give Molly the answer she wanted, the answer that she herself wanted. _Yes_, she wished she could say back to her little brunette friend, _yes. Miss Hannigan is going to be fine._

Annie was used to having the answers. For about three or four years now, she'd been the unofficial ringleader of the orphanage. If there was something anyone didn't know the answer to, then they came to Annie because she was the smart one. She knew things. She could fix everything.

And now, Annie was being forced into something she hated. She was forced into helplessness-a feeling the redhead despised with every fiber of her being.

"Yes." She finally replied after two or three minutes. Maybe if she said it with enough faith in those three little letters. it would be true eventually. Maybe...maybe Miss Hannigan would truly be alright. Annie knew she had to believe. Just like she believed her parents were still coming for her...she believed Miss Hannigan was going to be alright. She had to.

Relief crossed Molly's face for a moment before a wide smile appeared on her lips. "Then there's nothing to worry about! Miss Hannigan's gonna be fine!"

Annie smiled and ruffled Molly's hair. "Nothing to worry about, baby. Miss Hannigan's gonna be fine." She repeated, weakly.

Duffy peeked her head into the dormitory now and smiled at Annie and Molly sitting on the cot. "Hey,' she whispered.

Annie's head snapped up. "Hey," she replied.

Duffy smiled gently and sat beside Molly. "Pepper's ...she's pretty upset, Annie. Leave Molly here with me, alright? I can take care of her. I think you should talk to Pepper."

Anxiety instantly filled Annie again at this and she glanced at Molly, who was softly humming to herself, as happy as could be, before she reluctantly nodded.

"Okay," she said with more certainty than she felt. Then, she knelt down to Molly's eye level and gave a comforting smile.

"Hey, baby, I'm gonna leave you here with Duffy for a little while. I'm going to go and help Pepper take care of Miss Hannigan, alright? I promise I'll get her better. Go to Duffy if there's anything upsetting you. Can you do that?"

Molly smiled and nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Annie, I can!" She agreed with such enthusiasm Annie couldn't help but giggle. She leaned forward and kissed Molly on the forehead.

"Good girl." She said before getting up and going back down the stairs to Miss Hannigan's bedroom.

By now, a majority of the girls in the orphanage had crowded around the door, each chattering loudly about what they believed to be going on and when they noticed Annie coming down the corridor, they began to bombard her with questions about the situation. Annie simply ignored them as she pushed her way into Miss Hannigan's room to find Pepper at her bedside, holding her hand tight with tears in her eyes. Seeing this scene brought tears of her own to Annie's eyes and even though the room reeked of alcohol and smoke, Annie did her best to ignore it as she headed over towards Pepper and took a seat.

"I can't wake her up," the older girl simply said, shaking her head. "I...I'm pretty sure she's still alive...but I don't know for how long."

"What.." Annie's voice cracked, "what do we do, Pepper?"

The threatening tears slipped down onto Pepper's cheeks now and she shook her head, completely at a loss of what to do. "I think...I think we need to get help. Professional help. We can't let her die, Annie...and it's not like many people come 'round here unless one of us have run away."

At this suggestion, Annie instantly shook her head vehemently. "No. We can't do that, Pepper. Because you know what's going to happen if we tell someone that Miss Hannigan did this while we were under her care?"

Pepper's eyes became downcast as she finished Annie's thought. "They'll have to find someone more...stable to take care of us. I know. But...Annie, Miss Hannigan's not...she can't take care of us when she's like this. You have to admit that."

Annie simply looked to Miss Hannigan and shook her head. "I can't imagine someone other than her taking care of us, Pepper. It scares me. I mean, sure, she's not exactly as nice as some people are, but she's taken care of me for my entire life. I...I can't say I don't care. I don't want her gone."

"I don't either," Pepper admitted softly, "but what choice do we have? If we just leave her, she's either going to die or she's going to be really weak when she wakes up. As it is, the only meal we've had in the past two days is lunch. We've been giving all the spare food to Molly. We can't get more food without her or at least someone around. She has the money. We can't steal enough to feed all of us."

Annie sighed heavily. "But what if the person they find is even worse than Miss Hannigan is? What if they never let us rest? What if they only feed us as much to keep us alive? I mean, I don't care about me...but I have to protect Molly, Pepper. She's so little. She needs to be as normal as possible."

"If you want to protect her, then we have to tell someone about Miss Hannigan. Because keeping quiet about it will only lead all of us to no food and soon, no anything. I know it's hard, Annie, but we have to do it."

Glancing at Miss Hannigan again and realising that, even though she hated to admit it, there was some hard truth in what Pepper was saying, she reluctantly nodded. "I guess you're right..." She agreed quietly. "I'm just scared."

"I am, too. But we've stuck together for this long without killing each other, right? We can get through anything, you and me. We'll make sure Miss Hannigan gets the help she needs and I promise you that we'll protect Molly as much as we can. Do we have a deal, kid? Can you trust me?"

Letting a hint of a smile tug at the corner of her lips, Annie nodded again. "I can."

Pepper was quiet for a moment before she reluctantly took her hand away from Miss Hannigan's, heaving a deep sigh. "You...you and Kate go get someone. I think there's a police station a couple blocks down from here. They'll know what to do."

Annie was intimidated at the idea of getting a police officer involved in all of this (the only interactions she'd had with them were when she ran away, after all), but the nearest hospital was a good twenty miles away. She knew that Miss Hannigan needed help and fast, so she quietly gulped before going to get Kate. She shakily began to explain what had happened as quickly as possible before they left the orphanage and ran to the police station. Tears were freely running down Annie's cheeks by the time they arrived and Kate hastily tried to tell them what was going on through a curtain of her own sobs.

"Woah, hold on, little girls," the police chief said, holding his hands up. "Slow your roll. Calm down. What's the matter?"

Annie took a moment to recollect herself before speaking. "We're...we're orphans at the orphanage right by here...and Miss...Miss Hannigan, our caretaker...she's really hurt, Officer. She...she tried to kill herself a couple days ago...and when she didn't wake up today, one of our friends went to check on her...and she was asleep...and she was bleeding really bad. We can't wake her up. We're really scared."

The police officers in the room each exchanged glances at this, not expecting this to be the case in the slightest. They knew that there was an orphanage nearby, but all the reports from there were on runaway orphans. The mistress there seemed to be nice enough - perhaps a little bit off at times, but they always chalked that up to the lack of sleep taking care of thirty girls surely brought. They never suspected they would ever get a suicide report from her.

One look at the two little girls standing in front of them was enough to melt the chief sergeant's heart. He had two little girls of his own, seven and eight, and these girls looked to be about the same age. The difference between his daughters and these orphans, though, were that they were so obviously malnourished, which made him feel guilty for never noticing this in previous incidents. He'd found a handful of little girls and brought them back to the orphanage, but he was just now noticing how thin these girls were. What in the world were they being fed...? Were they getting any food at all? And...what kind of person was this Miss Hannigan really? The girls seemed to be genuinely concerned for her wellbeing, but that could just be because the situation in itself was terrifying. That didn't mean Miss Hannigan was exactly nice.

"Please, you have to come and help us, Officer." Annie pleaded after a minute or so had passed without any response. "Miss Hannigan...we don't want her to die."

The sergeant smiled a bit and knelt down to Annie's eye level. "What's your name, sweetheart?" He asked gently.

"Annie." The redhead replied with a hint of annoyance. This was no time for niceties. Miss Hannigan's life was in danger, for goodness sake! Introductions could wait until later...why didn't this dumb officer know that?

"Listen, Annie, I don't want you or your friend to worry anymore, alright? I promise that whatever's going on with Miss Hannigan...we'll figure it out. Now, why don't you come and take us to the orphanage?"

Annie heaved a sigh of relief at this and began walking out of the police station with purpose, Kate, the sergeant and two other officers trailing behind her.

_Things are__ going to be fixed now_, Annie thought to herself. _Miss Hannigan's going to get help and we're all going to be fine._

...

The next few hours passed by in a whirlwind as police officers, paramedics, and social workers came and went from the orphanage, each inquiring different questions from the girls about Miss Hannigan and the conditions they were used to living in. Shortly after Annie and Kate had brought the officers to take care of Miss Hannigan, she was taken by paramedics to the hospital to be treated and, from careful eavesdropping, Annie learned that she had severe alcohol poisoning, whatever that meant. All she knew about it was that there was a likely chance Miss Hannigan wouldn't be coming back to the orphanage for a long time, if ever.

If the questions the social workers were asking them were any indication, Miss Hannigan would most likely be in legal trouble when and if she ever came to. The word _neglected_ was tossed around more than a couple times in regards to the orphans and the girls were asked about how much food they got on a daily basis, what food it was, if they got any schooling, and if they were forced to work at all.

Annie was hesitant to be truthful about these questions because even though the living conditions she'd been in for eight years were unpleasant at best, Miss Hannigan was still only human and she didn't deserve to have her life ruined. Annie knew in her heart of hearts that the real reason Miss Hannigan had been so bitter all these years was because of the alcohol. The social workers urged her to be completely honest, though, and Annie wanted to do everything she could to make sure kids like Molly had a better chance at life than she did. So, she poured her heart out to the social worker, Mrs. Allen, about the past eight years end everything she'd had to endure, but making sure to bookend her story with saying she didn't blame Miss Hannigan.

Luckily, by five that afternoon, most of the commotion had died down and the girls were able to finally chat amongst themselves about what they'd been asked by the social workers and police officers. A temporary replacement for Miss Hannigan had been found and she was staying close by the girls in case any of them happened to need comforting or the like. The day had been fairly emotional.

"What was the name of the social worker who talked to you?" Duffy asked July, intrigue on her face as she brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them.

"Mrs. Abraham. She was really nice to me, but she made Miss Hannigan seem like a really bad person. But she's not, and I tried telling her that. I don't think she really believed me."

"Yeah, they did that to me, too," Pepper replied, rolling her eyes. "They think that she brainwashed us into singin' her praises if anything like this ever happened. That's why they was asking so much. They wanted to know everything."

"What do you think's gonna happen to Miss Hannigan now?" Tessie asked, concern flashing in her blue eyes. "D'you think she's gonna live?"

"Of course she is, dummy!" Pepper said, shaking her head at Tessie's question. "She's in the hospital, ain't she?"

"That don't mean she can't die, Pepper." Tessie retorted, "My mama was in the hospital and she still died."

"But...Miss Hannigan can't die!" Molly piped out, speaking for the first time since the social workers had left a few hours ago. She'd been unusually quiet since all the drama with Miss Hannigan had occurred and it was beginning to concern Annie. She knew that seeing what she'd seen earlier was no doubt traumatic, but Molly hadn't uttered a single word about it.

Now, the redhead wrapped her arm around her little friend in a comforting manner and smiled gently. "Don't listen to Tessie, Molly. She's just worried. But Miss Hannigan ain't gonna die. She's gonna be fine."

"The...the police officer said she must've been really sick for her to drink so much and to hurt herself that badly." The four year old replied, looking down. "They kept asking me about what I'd saw. Over and over again. I don't get why."

"They did that to all of us, sweetheart," Annie explained, tousling Molly's hair. "They wanted to figure out what's making Miss Hannigan so sad. And since we live with her, we know a little bit. But not enough."

"But Miss Hannigan's not gonna die, right? She's gonna be alright?"

Annie's smile grew slightly. "I promise you, Molly, Miss Hannigan will not die. The doctors won't let her. I promise."

"Can we see her? I wanna visit her!"

Annie paused for a moment at this request, wanting to do the exact same, but at the same time knowing that the situation went quite a bit beyond Miss Hannigan being treated for alcohol poisoning. She knew that the social workers or police officers or a combination probably thought Miss Hannigan was too unstable to be around any of them at the moment, if not ever again. She didn't know if they would be allowed to see Miss Hannigan.

"You know, sweetheart, I'm not sure," Annie said quietly, looking to Pepper for guidance. "Miss Hannigan may not be up for visitors for awhile."

"I'm sure you can see her soon, Molly." Pepper said meekly, hoping to bring a small semblance of comfort to the little girl.

Molly only sighed sadly. "I wanna make her feel better, Annie. She needs a hug cause she's sad and when I'm sad you give me hugs."

Annie felt her eyes welling up with tears and she pulled Molly in tighter, resting her head against Molly's. "I think Miss Hannigan would like that very much, baby."

...

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the night was very long for the orphans. Their replacement caretaker sent them to bed at only nine, but none of the girls fell asleep until at least one in the morning. They had far too much on their minds, the events of the day coming sweeping into their thoughts in one swift movement. Annie and Pepper had asked to see Miss Hannigan the next day and Ms. O'Connell had said she'd do her best. Annie didn't know if she was quite ready to see Miss Hannigan just yet, but she also wanted to make sure she was alright.

The whole day had been completely exhausting for the little redhead. She'd been asked at least fifteen times to recollect the events of Miss Hannigan's suicide attempt to various police officers and she'd shed more tears in that day than she had in her entire eight years. And now, from the sounds of it, the orphans were going to be transferred to different orphanages across the state within the next few weeks. Annie had overheard a social worker talking to Ms. O'Connell in hushed voices that afternoon and she'd learned their current building had been deemed unsafe for living quarters anymore, which was just another thing Annie was stressing about.

She knew it was likely that all the girls would be separated from one another, including herself from Molly. The only realistic way she'd be able to stay with her little friend was if they were blood relatives and even then, it wasn't too common. Annie was prepared to fight tooth and nail to make sure that Molly was taken care of, but realistically, she couldn't do much. But...poor little Molly had lost so much in the past two months. She'd lost her parents, her loving home, friends, and who knew what else? As it was, she wasn't handling it very well. Who would? Molly couldn't stand to lose another thing, which just so happened to be the only sense of security she had left: Annie.

On the one hand, Annie wanted to be angry with Miss Hannigan for causing so much confusion and uncertainty for them, but on the other, her heart was shattered. She couldn't understand how it felt to be so hopeless that you wanted to rake your own life. To want to give up. She wanted to do something - _anything_ to make Miss Hannigan feel even a little bit better. Nobody deserved this much pain.

But Annie was only eight. There was so much wrong in her little corner of the earth, but she was only eight years old and she couldn't fix it. She had no control. And that feeling of helplessness made Annie crazy. She couldn't prevent Molly being separated from her, she couldn't prevent Miss Hannigan from her depression and self destructive behaviour, and she couldn't prevent the state and social services from doing whatever they thought was in the best interest of the children, even if those actions made their already miserable lives unbearable. She had no control.

Morning came faster than Annie thought it would and before she knew it the sun was rising with her having gotten only two hours of sleep. For once, she'd refrained from sitting at the window ledge. Her only calming mechanism was gone.

Molly had been tossing and turning beside her the whole night and when the four year old woke up for the day, it was clear her slumber had been anything but peaceful. She was cranky and before Annie even had a chance to say anything to her, tears were in her eyes. Of course, Annie couldn't exactly blame her, but she knew a long day stood in front of them.

The only good thing about waking up, she supposed, was that Ms. O'Connell sad that she'd heard from Social Services and the girls were allowed to go and visit Miss Hannigan in the hospital. While the majority of the girls were relieved to be able to see their caretaker and check up on her, Duffy seemed almost angry at the fact they were allowed to see Miss Hannigan.

"The hell's your problem?" Pepper asked Duffy as they got dressed for the day, surveying her roommate's sulky face.

"Are we supposed to just forget how mean Miss Hannigan was to us now that she's in the hospital because she had too much to drink? Are we supposed to be playing the sympathy card with her?"

"Oh, my God, Duffy." Pepper said in response, rolling her eyes. "Miss Hannigan tried to kill herself! I think she deserves a little bit of sympathy. I ain't excusing anything she's done, but she has nobody else to look out for her. Whether you like it or not, this dump and the people living here are the closest thing to a family you're ever gonna get, and Miss Hannigan's part of that family. So yeah, forget about everything for a few hours. Let her feel like someone cares about her for once."

"It's not my fault she can't figure out when to stop drinking," the girl replied drily as a car pulled up to the orphanage.

"Just be nice today. Please."

Now, Pepper and Duffy began to walk towards the front door, following their roommates out of the orphanage and getting into the car, the fanciest one they'd ever seen. The ride to the hospital was short and while the girls were chatting a mile a minute while in the car, they all became sullen once they entered the hospital. They were instantly led to Miss Hannigan's room and a simultaneous gasp fell upon the room when they saw the woman in the bed. Miss Hannigan was awake, sitting up and propped up with three or four pillows, a book in hand, but she was visibly pale and weak. She had an IV in her right hand and heart monitors beeping around her. The sight was scary, especially since the majority of the girls had last been at a hospital when their parents passed away.

"Hey, Miss Hannigan," Pepper said quietly as she came in the room, feeling awkward and out of place. "How're you feeling?"

"I could be a lot better, kid." Miss Hannigan said, her voice hoarse. "Listen...girls...I'm sorry that I've screwed you all over so bad these last few months. I know that I have nobody to blame for all of this but myself. But I'm sorry to drag you down with me. You're all just little girls. You don't need this."

Tears slipped down Pepper's cheek. "Don't be sorry for being sad, Miss Hannigan." She replied and Miss Hannigan gave a weak smile.

"I...I never meant to hurt you guys like I did. I mean...I know hitting you guys was a bit extreme. I ain't gonna lie about that. But...I want you girls to move on and forget me. Just...think of me like a villain standing in your way. Forget about me. You have your whole lives ahead of you."

"But what about you, Miss Hannigan?" Annie asked, her confusion growing. "Don't you need someone to take care of you?"

"Don't worry about me, Annie. I'm an adult. I have to fix my mistakes on my own. But you girls shouldn't have to suffer because I was stupid. Don't worry about me."

"But we care about you," Pepper insisted and Miss Hannigan scoffed at this.

"You shouldn't. You shouldn't waste your energy on worrying about someone as hopeless as me. I don't even understand how you can stand to be in the same room as me, to be completely honest. I've been horrible to you."

"Just because you've been horrible doesn't mean you _are_ horrible," Annie offered now. "Everyone makes mistakes. And we care about you. A lot." The redhead smiled widely and took Miss Hannigan by the hand.

"Thanks, Annie," Miss Hannigan replied softly, tears welling in her eyes. Molly timidly stepped forward, grasping a piece of paper right in her hands.

"I...I drawed you a paper," she announced, her voice almost too soft to be heard. Miss Hannigan eagerly reached out for the drawing, which was of two poorly drawn stick figures that were obviously meant to be herself and Molly. The figures looked like they had their hands joined and little hearts surrounded them. Miss Hannigan's welling tears dropped onto her cheeks now as she smiled at the drawing.

"This...this is a very sweet picture, Molly. Thank you," she said and Molly beamed in pride.

"Miss Hannigan...can I hug you? You're sad and I think you need a hug cause when I'm sad Annie gives me hugs, but you have nobody to hug you,"

Not knowing how to respond, Miss Hannigan only slightly nodded in response. Molly pulled herself onto Miss Hannigan's bed and hugged her tightly before pulling away and kissing her cheek. "I love you, Miss Hannigan." She said quietly, staring at Miss Hannigan with admiration and curiosity.

It had been years since she heard those three words directed towards her and now, when she was in the hospital after an attempted suicide, she'd needed to hear those words more than ever. She didn't know what it was about little Molly, but the girl had something special about her, something that made Miss Hannigan feel as if she wasn't completely worthless.

And if was in this moment Miss Hannigan realised something that terrified her and excited her at the very same time. She loved Molly, too. She loved Molly and for now, she had a goal she wanted to reach more than anything else in the entire world. She wanted to adopt Molly. Of course, she knew she had a long way to go as far as sobriety and becoming stable enough to be a parent went, but Molly had given her hope for the first time in forever. The least she could do in return was to get better so she could give Molly the life that she deserved. The poor girl was only four. She needed someone to give her a second chance and who better to provide that second chance than Miss Hannigan?


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the wait on this chapter, but I've been crazy busy so far this summer and I haven't had as much time to write as usual. There is unfortunately one chapter left in this story, but a sequel is already underway and the first chapter will be posted in August. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

The next week passed by stressfully for not only Miss Hannigan, but for the girls, as well. Even though they were now under the care of Ms. O'Connell, they insisted on visiting Miss Hannigan each and every day that she was in the hospital, which luckily Social Services didn't oppose to. The woman was regaining her strength more and more as each day went by, and it was then that she was informed that she wouldn't be in charge of the orphanage anymore. Initially, she was hurt and even a little offended by it, but after thinking it over for awhile, she realized it was only for the best. Of course, leaving her position as caretaker after having the job for just under fifteen years would be bittersweet, but she was ready to move on.

She hadn't mentioned it to Social Services that she wanted to adopt Molly yet, but as the two of them spent more and more time together while Miss Hannigan was in the hospital, the woman's heart began to ache for Molly. The four year old deserved so much more than she currently had. She deserved a warm home, her own bed, toys and someone to love her more than anything else.

Getting to the point where she'd be allowed to adopt a child, though, was going to be the hard part. When she'd first been admitted to the hospital, Miss Hannigan was given an option as far as going forward went. Either she agree to go to inpatient treatment for her alcoholism, or she was going to be charged with child neglect and finding a job would be difficult for her. Even before realizing just how much she loved Molly, the choice was easy. She'd only been drinking for about five years, but she'd fallen down considerably hard since then.

Her father had been the same way as she was, but she knew that despite that, they weren't alike in any other ways. Miss Hannigan knew the ramifications of her drinking and how it affected the people around her, but she didn't believe the same went for her father. When she sobered up, guilt simply ate at her, but her father never apologized or felt remorse. Truth be told, she couldn't remember a single time that he'd been kind to her. And she didn't want to end up the way that he had, dying of liver failure because of the alcohol. It was a wonder her livers weren't damaged much as it was, but she was taking this opportunity to sober up and turn herself around. She was already forty five years old and she knew that she couldn't hold out hope for getting younger. Being an orphanage matron was a good job for a thirty or thirty five year old, perhaps a widow, but not for a forty five year old alcoholic.

Growing up, she'd had dreams of a better life. She'd had dreams of getting away from her mother, father, and brother and finally experiencing happiness. She'd had dreams of getting married, having children and growing old happily to leave a good legacy behind her. She was supposed to break the chain of the Hannigan failures. She'd gotten the good grades in school and she'd even gone to a two year college, but then when she was twenty eight, her mother had died and Rooster came to live with her for a year and a half until he was eighteen. By that point, he was already fairly used to criminal life and one day while Agatha had gone to the store for groceries, he stole all the money and valuables from her home and took off for a week. Except for the two hundred dollars she had left in the bank, she was broke. She had nothing and no way of paying for bills.

That was when she had taken the job at the orphanage. It was a fairly nice place to live and she could take care of children for a little while until she built up enough money to buy another home for herself. She hadn't planned on staying more than three years, but then Rooster ended up in jail for assisting in a drug deal right as she was about to close down on a home in southern New Jersey. Years before, when he had stolen from her, she had vowed never to help him again, but when she got that phone call from him in jail, she couldn't help but want to. Yeah, Rooster had made bad choices and yeah, he'd hurt her and thrown her life off course, but when it all came down to it, he was still her baby brother and she couldn't let him go to jail. So she agreed to pay his bond as long as he agreed to never get caught up in any more illegal activities. He'd promised on their mother's grave.

She'd believed him at the time, but it was only a few months before he was back to his usual games and ended up in jail weekly, if not more than that. At first, Miss Hannigan wanted to let him deal with the consequences on his own, but with each phone call from jail, he slowly broke her down until all she did was work at the orphanage for money that would only go to paying for bond or to giving him food in jail. By that point, she was thirty nine years old and had no more than three dollars to her name. That was when she began to go to the bottle for comfort. At first, she vowed to never let herself get as bad as her father had, but that promise was broken within the first three months of her alcoholism. Each time she got sober, she would remember what she'd done when drunk and start to feel guilty, which only made her want to drink to take the edge off everything. She hadn't been violent at first, but eventually, she'd turned bitter because of Rooster and that was when she began to hit the orphans.

In some ways, Miss Hannigan saw her suicide attempt as a blessing in disguise. She'd never really wanted to die, but in a way, she felt like she was being buried alive by all her guilt and bitterness. She was drowning, screaming for help. But nobody heard her, and she knew she couldn't continue to go on living like she had for all these years. She was relieved when Pepper found her that day and even though it was a lot to put on two little girls, she felt better after venting to her and Annie the day after. But, then she began to feel guilty for putting so much on them and drank even though she knew it was dangerous given how much she'd ingested the previous day. And when the alcohol hadn't taken the edge off, she turned to something she promised she'd never do. She began to harm herself, just like her mother had done when she was growing up. And it helped for a short while, but then she began feeling guilty again and drank even more.

That was the last thing she remembered before waking up in the hospital. And that was the exact moment she knew that she needed to turn herself around and get it together. Perhaps it was true that she was past her prime, that didn't mean she didn't deserve to be happy. She would go to the inpatient treatment, sober up, and come out stronger than her parents had ever been. She would finally stand up to Rooster, cut him out of her life, and finally, for the first time in years, use her paycheck for what she wanted. She would come out, rent an apartment, and sign the papers that would give her the privilege to be a parent to one of the most deserving little girls there was.

...

After spending ten days in the hospital (including three in the ICU), Miss Hannigan was finally deemed stable enough to leave and go to inpatient treatment. Even know she'd known that was the next course of action all along, she was incredibly nervous. Not because she didn't think she could handle the treatment, but because she knew that the orphanage was closing down while she would be away and she was terrified that Molly would be adopted before she got back on her feet.

She'd suffered through so many heartbreaks in her life and she knew that if the one shred of light in her life got taken away now, she wouldn't be able to recover. She'd mentioned in passing to Molly that she'd probably be adopted soon, and the little girl seemed more than eager for that to happen. She was just lucky that Molly was too young to really understand anything about her situation and seemed to bounce back fairly fast from finding her in her bedroom that one day. Miss Hannigan wished she could just adopt Molly now, but she knew that she needed proper rehabilitation for her drinking, and that simply promising to never drink again wouldn't solve anything.

Luckily, she'd been able to arrange for Pepper, Annie, and Molly to come visit her before she was transferred to the inpatient center.

"Miss Hannigan...I'm going to miss you," Pepper said that morning as she leaned against the hospital room doorway, her voice cracking.

Miss Hannigan looked up from where Molly was snuggled into her side and gave a small, commiserating smile. "I'm going to miss you, too, sweetheart, but this is just something I need to do for myself. I'm sure that as soon as you get to this new orphanage, there will be couples lining up just to adopt you."

At this, Pepper blushed slightly. "I'm too old..." She said quietly, looking down.

Miss Hannigan frowned at this and gestured for Pepper to come closer. "Hey, you listen to me. Don't give up. I was sure that I'd never get out of that dump, but look at me now. I have a long way to go, sure, but I'm moving on. You're a special girl, Pepper. You just have to give people a chance."

Pepper nodded slightly, unable to stop tears from rolling down her cheeks at this point. "Do you think I'll ever see you again, after you leave?"

"Oh, sweetheart, of course I'll see you again. I'll make sure I find out where you're living and I'll come visit you as often as I can. Don't worry."

Pepper smiled now and leaned down to hug Miss Hannigan tightly. "Thank you," she said quietly into Miss Hannigan's ear. "Thank you for taking care of me so long and for giving me a warm place to stay and for giving me hope. I love you."

Miss Hannigan pulled Pepper in close to her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Pepper. For being so strong and so helpful. I know that you're going on to do great things. I'll see you as soon as I can, alright?"

Pepper's response was interrupted by a nurse knocking at the door to the room. "Agatha Hannigan? Your ride to the rehabilitation center is here."

Miss Hannigan sucked in a breath at this and hugged Pepper tightly once more before gesturing for Annie to come forward. "I don't think I've ever told you this and I'm damn sorry, but you're a real special little girl, Annie. You're so sweet to everyone, and I sincerely hope you find parents. I really do."

Annie smiled and hugged Miss Hannigan tightly. "I hope that you...you're happy. And i hope to see you again. Please come visit." She replied, her voice cracking much like Pepper's had just minutes before.

"You have my word, kid. I'll see you again, as soon as I get a chance. You take care of yourself and you make sure the other kids at this orphanage you're going to know that they can come to you."

Annie nodded and hopped of Miss Hannigan's bed as the woman moved Molly from her side to her lap. The little girl already had tears rushing down her face, having become attached to Miss Hannigan in the past two weeks and now Miss Hannigan tried to prevent tears of her own from falling as she pulled Molly in close to her.

"I'll miss you so much, Molly," Miss Hannigan said quietly, rubbing Molly's back comfortingly. "I'm sorry for everything I've put you through. I really am. But I just know you're going to get adopted soon. I...I love you, sweetheart."

Molly was crying too hard to give a proper response, but she wrapped her arms around Agatha's neck and kissed her cheek. "I'm gonna miss you, Miss Hannigan. Please come visit me and see me. Please."

Miss Hannigan now kissed Molly's forehead. "Oh, love. You don't even have to ask for me to do that. The moment I get out of my treatment, I'll finding out exactly where you're staying and I'll come visit you, okay?"

Molly rapidly nodded and screwed her eyes shut, sobbing as Annie lifted her off the bed and pulled her in close. The nurse glanced at Miss Hannigan now and Miss Hannigan slowly got out of bed, picked up her bag and followed her out, knowing that if she dared to stay any longer, it would just be that much harder to leave. Pepper and Annie waved to her as they watched her walk down the hallway, both sobbing the hardest they'd ever sobbed.

...

That night in the orphanage, the girls all felt melancholy for a few reasons. The first being that they knew it would be weeks, if not months, before any of them saw Miss Hannigan again and the second being that they'd learnt that afternoon that over the course of the next two days, they would be transferred to their new orphanages.

For the last time ever, this would be the last night all seven of them shared a room. This would be the last night that the seven of them could count on each other to be there no matter what. This would be the last night that the seven of them stayed up chatting if one of them were upset, or fighting about something mundane. This would be the last night the seven of them were the same.

Unsurprisingly, Molly insisted on sleeping with Annie, terrified that this would be the last time she'd ever see her again. Annie had promised that this wouldn't be the case, but Molly knew that this was something her redheaded friend couldn't promise. It wasn't up to either of them whether or not they'd see the other again. It was up to Social Services, and Molly knew from listening in on conversations that Social Services didn't care about the girl's relationships. The only factor that went into finding a suitable orphanage was whether or not the living conditions were good. There was a high probability that the next day either Annie or Molly would be taken to their new orphanage and this was the last time they'd be around the other.

"Annie...I can't sleep." Molly said quietly as she rested her head in Annie's chest, her voice cracking. "I don't wanna leave you."

Annie ran her fingers through Molly's hair gently, tears springing to her eyes. "I don't want to leave you either, baby. I wish there was something that we could do to make sure we stay together."

"I won't know anyone at my new orphanage, Annie, and you won't be there to help me or sing to me or anything. I'll be alone." Molly started to cry now and Annie wrapped her arm around the four year old comfortingly.

"Hey, baby, don't cry. I know this is rough and I wish that I could come with you, but you don't know how strong you really are, sweetie. I have no doubt that you'll be fine. And if the girls aren't nice, then you stand up to them like Pepper or I would."

Molly turned over onto her side so that she was facing Annie. "What if I never see you ever again?"

Annie gently kissed Molly's forehead. "I told you, baby, that's not going to happen. I may not be able to make sure we can stay together, but I definitely can make sure I see you again. I asked Ms. O'Connell where you're headed and she gave me the address, so at least I can send you letters."

"But I can't read, Annie."

"I know, sweetheart, but I'm sure you can find someone there to read it to you and maybe they'll even write a letter back for you. We'll make it work, okay? I promise we'll make of work."

"I'm scared, Annie." Molly's tears started to rush down her cheeks faster and Annie wrapped her arm around Molly tighter.

"Hey, baby, you listen to me. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make sure you're alright, alright? I'll do whatever it takes."

Molly sniffled and snuggled into Annie's side, sobbing harder. Annie's heart broke and she simply rubbed her friend's back, wishing that there was something, anything she could do to fix this. She'd considered running away with Molly, but it was the middle of December and the conditions outside were harsh. She could do it on her own, but Molly was just too little to be exposed to conditions like that. Annie had survived for days on a empty stomach, but she would feel guilty making Molly do the 'd just have to do what she always did: hope for the best.

Eventually, Annie heard Molly start to softly snore and even though her arm was getting fired, she continued to diligently rub Molly's back, knowing that this could very well be the last time she'd be able to have the little girl in her embrace.

"I love you so much, Molly." Annie whispered softly. "And I'm sorry that Annie can't protect you anymore. I'm so sorry, baby."

Molly snuggled in closer to Annie now and Annie simply rubbed Molly's back, determined to stay up until day broke. She couldn't waste any of the time she had left with Molly.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Here is the final chapter! I honestly can't believe it's over. What started out as just a meaningless piece of fluff has turned into 8 chapters with over 40,000 words. I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it and please leave a review!

* * *

"Agatha, are you sure that adopting a child is the best idea right now? You're just leaving treatment and one of the biggest facts that cause relapses is stress. Having a child is stressful enough, but adopting a child who's been through that much? That's just a recipe for disaster and you know it."

It was two months later, February, and Miss Hannigan was in one of the final therapy sessions of her inpatient stay. In just a few hours, she would finally be able to leave and one of the first things she was planning on doing was finding out exactly which orphanage Molly had been sent to and adopting her as soon as she could. While she was more than eager to start the next chapter in her life, her therapist was less than thrilled, to say the least.

"I know that it sounds crazy, but I can't let that little girl stay in an orphanage a day longer than absolutely nothing. You know that it's been my intention all along to adopt her, haven't you?"

"Well, yes, but I didn't think you'd be doing it quite so soon. Have you even found a house yet? You know that you can't bring a child in when you yourself don't have a stable place to live. Have you thought any of this through?"

Miss Hannigan sighed now, refraining from rolling her eyes. "Of course I have. Do you honestly think that I'd be so irresponsible to adopt a child without a roof over my head? I've been looking at houses while I've been here and I just put a payment down on a nice home in the suburbs. It's nice, it's spacious, and it's a great place to raise a child. There's a public school not too far away and I'm sure finding a job won't be too hard. I'm ready."

Miss Hannigan's therapist shook her head. "But what you're telling me is that you're planning on going to that orphanage and adopting this child _today_. Don't you think that's a little premature? You have no idea what parenting is like. Shouldn't you give yourself a couple weeks to settle in and get used to sobriety in a setting that's not the hospital? I honestly think this is a horrible idea."

"I don't want to wait a couple weeks to settle in, Dr. Mitchell. I know that it's going to be stressful and I know it's going to take a bit of getting used to on both ends, but I have to be honest with you. This little girl is one of the biggest reasons that I stayed here for the whole treatment. I've wanted to quit a lot, but I don't trust anyone else to love her as much as I do. When I leave here today, I'm going to the house and dropping my stuff off and then I'm going to the orphanage to pick up Molly and bring her home. I honestly feel like I'm ready."

Dr. Mitchell sighed now. "Agatha, what if it doesn't work out? What if you relapse? You're going to be a single parent and who's going to take care of that little girl when you're passed out drunk?"

Miss Hannigan was silent for a moment at this point, before briefly shaking off the comment. "Listen. I know I'm at a high risk for relapsing. I know that I've been drinking for so long that it's my normal. I know it all. I've been listening to all the lectures on alcoholism and I know that bringing a kid into the mix may not be the best idea right now, but the way I see it is that it's now or never. If I don't go through with it today, I'll keep thinking about it and I'll change my mind and I just know I'm going to regret that later. I know it. This little girl needs a home. And I want to be the one who gives it to her. I want to be her mother. I know what I'm doing."

Dr. Mitchell stared at Miss Hannigan for a few minutes now, before abruptly glancing up at the clock and realizing their session was over. "Well. You seem determined and set in your ways and I've said all I can to get you to think it over. That being said, though, you've grown a lot since first coming here, Agatha. I've seen a lot of people in my years, but I think there's something different about you. I honestly think you can make it, child or not. So, good luck. I hope it all works out."

Miss Hannigan smiled and stood up, extending her hand as she gave a tight lipped smile. Dr. Mitchell returned the grin and firmly shook her hand.

"Thank you," Miss Hannigan said quietly. "You've changed my life. I hope you know how much that means to me."

Dr. Mitchell simply nodded as she led Miss Hannigan to the door. "Go on. Start your new life. Make that little girl the happiest little girl there is."

"I will." Miss Hannigan declared as she left the office to go and sign her discharge papers. Seeing her signature on those papers somehow made everything seem more real to her. Today she really would be starting a new life. Today, she was no longer Miss Hannigan, the nasty orphanage mistress.

Today she was Agatha; prepared for a new life, ready to leave the past behind, excited.

Today she was Agatha; recovering alcoholic, new woman, mother.

Today she was Agatha: capable.

And she couldn't wait to see what the future held in store for her behind those hospital doors.

...

Two hours later, Agatha stood in front of her new front door, shakily holding her keys in her hands. She was one key turn a way from a completely new identity.

Ironically, parenting wasn't what was most nerve wracking about this whole new life to Agatha. Instead, it was living in the suburbs instead of the city. She'd lived in the city her entire life and she knew her way around it like she knew the back of her hand. She knew where to get the best deals, to get laundry done, to get her hair done. But in the suburbs, she would be completed starting over.

On the one hand, it was exciting. It was a way for her to make friends with people who wouldn't ever know her past if she didn't want it shared and it was a way for her to be a new person, the Agatha Hannigan she wanted to be remembered as.

On the other hand, it was terrifying. She'd never been much of a social person and all of a sudden, she would have to make new friends and find a job. She would have to socialize with her neighbors and the mothers of whichever friends Molly made. She'd have to go from almost complete isolation to being surrounded by people.

But she knew she couldn't be intimidated. Her excitement overrode her anxiety and since she'd made it this far already, she might as well go through with it. So with this train of thought, Agatha turned the key in its hole and opened the door to her new home for the very first time.

The house wasn't fancy or what some people might classify as nice, but to Agatha, it was perfect. It was two stories, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a sunroom, and an office. It was spacious enough so Agatha could spread out her furniture and it was cozy enough that Molly could feel as if this was actually home.

For about twenty or so minutes, Agatha simply walked around from room to room, envisioning all the memories that were to be made in the house, a wide smile on her face. Then, she unpacked her clothing from the hospital and tidied up her room a little before calling Social Services to find out where Molly had been transferred.

The orphanage was only about a half hour away and Agatha quickly showered and changed before driving over, hoping against all hope that her little girl hadn't already been adopted. Walking up the steps to the orphanage, she felt a huge pit in her stomach, but ignored it as she knocked on the door.

Within moments, a kind looking woman opened the door. "Hello, can I help you?"

Agatha was silent for a moment, overcome by nerves before nodding. "I'm here...I want to adopt a child."

The woman's eyes widened considerably at this, which Agatha suspected meant that occasions like this were few and far between.

"That's wonderful! Please, come on in." The woman opened the door wider to Agatha, who reluctantly stepped in. "I'm Ms. Lucas. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Agatha shook her hand. "Agatha Hannigan, nice to meet you."

Ms. Lucas led Agatha down a series of hallways now and Agatha surveyed them as she walked past, feeling relieved that this place looked a great deal nicer than the other orphanage had. At least Molly had been living in nicer conditions. After about two or three minutes, Ms. Lucas stopped in front of an office and led Agatha inside.

"Now. What kind of orphan did you have in mind?"

Agatha cleared her throat nervously. "I actually...I know exactly which girl I want to adopt." She said and Ms. Lucas' eyes widened again.

"Oh? That's interesting. I don't think I've ever had that happen before."

Agatha couldn't help but laugh at this. "I used to work at the orphanage where this girl was transferred from, don't worry. I don't even know if she's here anymore, but if she is, I'd love to adopt her."

"Which girl is it? I have a feeling I know who it is,"

Agatha chuckled again. "Her name is Molly. She was transferred here about two and a half months ago, if my calculations are right."

"I knew it!" Ms. Lucas said now, smiling widely. "There is something endearing about that girl, isn't there? She's such a sweetheart. By far, the youngest girl we have here, actually. The majority of the girls here are ten or eleven, but Molly's definitely the baby. The other girls just adore her. They take such good gate of her."

"I'm so glad to hear that," Agatha said, her voice cracking. "Can I...can I assume that means she's still here, then?"

"She is, yes. Unfortunately, not many couples come around here looking to adopt. Most of the girls here just end up growing out of the system. I try to give them as much as I can, but I just don't have as much money as I'd like. I wish I could give them more. Those girls deserve a life."

Agatha nodded. "They do. Molly's grown so much on me since I met her and she deserves so much more than she has right now. That's why I want to adopt her."

Ms. Lucas smiled even wider ar this. "That's such a beautiful sentiment. Let me go get her for you, alright? I'll be back in just a moment." She got up from her chair and exited the office whilst Agatha looked around, feeling built for how mean she'd been in the most recount years to the girls under her care. Ms. Lucas seemed to truly care for them and though deep down Agatha felt that, she hadn't shown it nearly enough as she needed to. She hoped that Molly had no hard feelings against her.

Luckily, Agatha wasn't able to dwell on this for long, since about five minutes later Ms. Lucas came back with Molly in tow. Agatha's breath hitched when she saw the little girl, looking much better than when she'd seen her last. Now, she wasn't sickly thin and she looked just as healthy as she should have been.

"Miss Hannigan?!" Molly asked incredulously when she saw Agatha sitting in the chair, not believing her eyes. Agatha smiled at this and bent down to Molly's eye level, unable to speak for a moment.

"Hi, darling. How are you?"

Molly flung herself into Agatha's arms now, nearly toppling her over as she burst into tears. Agatha held on tight to her, rubbing her back and doing everything she could to prevent tears of her own from falling.

"Miss Hannigan...what are you doing here?" Molly asked quietly a few minutes later, finally pulling away from Agatha. The woman smiled and brushed the little girl,s bangs away from her forehead before replying.

"I promised you I'd come visit, didn't I? Why are you so surprised?" Agatha asked, smiling widely. "It's so great to see you, sweetheart."

"I missed you so much, Miss Hannigan." Molly said quietly, hugging Agatha again. Agatha ran her fingers through the girl's long brown hair.

"I missed you, too, love." Agatha replied as Molly pulled back again, tears trickling down her cheeks. Agatha wiped them away with her thumb before speaking a again "Molly, love, I have something important I want to ask you."

Intrigue crossed Molly's face now. "Yeah?" She replied, her voice wavering a little bit.

"Molly...I know that I've made a lot of mistakes with you and I know I've hurt you a lot ever since meeting you, but...I love you so much, Molly. I really do. And it's the kind of love where my heart hurts when I'm apart from you, alright? It's the kind of love that makes me want to do anything I can to make sure you have a happy and healthy life. And it's the kind of love that...that makes me want you to be my daughter, sweetheart. I want to adopt you, Molly. What do you think?"

Molly was silent for a good while at this question and Agatha's hope was starting to dwindle before the little girl threw herself at the woman once more, this time sobbing harder than Agatha had ever seen.

"Yes! Yes! Yes, adopt me!" Molly said excitedly and now Agatha finally let her tears roll down her cheeks as she hugged Molly tightly.

"Then it's settled." Agatha declared, standing up with Molly in her arms. "You're coming home with me today, little girl."

Molly smiled wider than Agatha had ever seen and even Ms. Lucas couldn't help but smile when she saw how happy the pair was.

"Well," she said once the excitement had died down for the moment. "Why don't we get those papers signed and you can take her home?"

Agatha smiled and nodded, reluctantly setting Molly down on the floor so she could sign the adoption papers. Once done, she immediately swooped Molly back up and kissed her on the cheek. "Let's get you home, my dear."

"Okay!" Molly agreed enthusiastically as she waved fondly to Ms. Lucas. Agatha helped her collect her few belongings before taking her back to the car and driving her home - for the first time.

...

By midnight, Agatha was more exhausted than she ever remembered being, but yet she was unable to sleep due to the pure adrenaline she was running on. After taking Molly home, the rest of the afternoon had gone by just as well as Agatha had been imagining it, if not better. Molly was settling in quite smoothly, already comfortable with sleeping in her own room, though there wasn't a bed in there yet and having no hesitation to ask Agatha for anything.

Agatha was just as happy, somehow feeling comfort knowing that the little girl was in the next room. She'd suggested they go shopping earlier that evening, an idea Molly took to enthusiastically and now as Agatha peeked in on the sleeping girl, she saw her new doll nestled safely in her arms. It felt nice to be needed for something other than money and Agatha desperately wanted to get to sleep so she could be up and ready whenever Molly woke up. A thunderstorm began just as she was turning down her covers, though, and at this she resolved to just reading one of her parenting books, knowing she could never get to sleep with the thunder roaring.

Her focus was thwarted again when she heard small, catlike whimpers coming from the hallway. Confused, Agatha slowly put down her book before stepping out of her room and finding Molly standing right outside her door, tears slipping down her cheeks. Agatha smiled and immediately lifted her up, brushing her hair back from her forehead and kissing it.

"Hey, love, what's the matter?" She asked quietly as she sat down with Molly on her lap. The little girl clung tight to her as she hiccuped.

"The thunder is scary and I miss Annie." Molly replied softly, burying her face in Agatha's shoulder. Agatha rubbed her back comfortingly, letting the little girl cry into her until her sobs subsided.

"Oh, love, the thunder can't hurt you, alright? It's just noise. Just like rain is just noise. Rain isn't scary, is it?"

Molly shook her head. "No, but rain is quiet and thunder is loud! Thunder is angry!"

Agatha chuckled. "Well, I don't think I can disagree with you there, but nevertheless, thunder can't hurt you. I promise."

"But how do you know?!' Molly asked frantically, shaking her head. Agatha soothingly kissed her forehead again as she thought of a way to explain it.

"Well, I know because I've never, ever heard of someone being hurt by thunder. It's just like a nightmare."

"How?" Molly replied, confused now.

"Well, a nightmare seems scary when it's in that exact moment, and then after you calm down, you realize it's not so bad, yeah? It's the same way with thunder. It seems scary when it first booms, but then when it's been quiet for awhile, you see that it's not so bad."

Molly seemed to consider this for a moment. "I still don't like it."

Agatha chuckled again. "Not many people do, my dear. But that's alright, because you know what?"

"What?"

"You have a mommy to protect you from the thunder now, okay? I'm right here to make sure it doesn't bother you."

Molly smiled slightly at this before frowning again. "I still miss Annie, though. I miss her giving me hugs and I miss her singing to me and I miss Pepper, too! They were so nice and Pepper would cuddle me and so would Annie and I miss them."

Agatha smiled sadly. "I miss them, too, sweetheart. Tell you what. How about we get you back to sleep and then tomorrow we can go see the both of them?"

Molly's eyes widened. "Really?! We can see them?!"

"Of course, my dear. Now, come on. Let's get you back to sleep." Agatha settled Molly underneath her covers now, somehow feeling like it was natural the little girl slept with her, and began to hum a song she learned when she was Molly's age.

Within minutes, Molly was fast asleep again and Agatha then leaned up against the headboard, running her fingers through the little girl's hair. In actuality, she hadn't thought about Annie and Pepper concretely since she'd gone into inpatient, but now that they'd been brought up, Agatha realized that she missed them just as much as she had Molly, and it was no secret the little girl did, too.

Sure, she could visit them multiple times a week at the orphanages they'd been sent to, but the likelihood of either of them being adopted before they outgrew the system was slim. Dr. Mitchell's voice ran in Agatha's head about her stressful environments were not what she needed right now as she was adjusting to sobriety, but one day of parenting with one child had gone by pretty well.

What harm could adopting two more do?


End file.
